Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is like saying that Bank of Ireland is going to fold because AIB exists. They are in competition and Bank of Ireland should be providing a full service. Where rural Ireland is concerned, I am disappointed that Bank of Ireland closed the branches and then took away the ATM machines. It goes against the grain of access to cash as well as environmental issues. People have to travel on hour-long journeys now to get cash.

I have recently seen with my own eyes people queuing outside banks. It is crazy stuff. People cannot get into a bank with the queues that are outside them because all of the other branches are closed and Bank of Ireland took the ATMs out of the wall. It is ridiculous.

I wish to move on to the issue of interest rates because what are not ridiculous are the profits that the bank is making. Did it make €419 million in the first half of this year?