Mr. John O'Connell:

To give the Deputy an actual example, in Tullamore, on the day of the future of banking seminar, the number of staff in one branch was down by 30%. The first thing the banks need to do is to staff up to business as usual in order that when the Deputy or I go into a branch, we have a reasonable expectation as to how quickly we will be served and our business dealt with. There is a business-as-usual element and then it is a matter of dealing with this surge. Mr. Brian Hayes talked about flattening the curve and so forth, and that aligns with what we are saying. If the time of the exit is lengthened, that will flatten the curve and will mean that customers will be able to plan or will be booked into the calendar for some time to discuss the matter, and the banks should be well resourced at that stage. I met with a couple of them this week and they are still resourcing staffing to get back to business as usual. I do not know if the Deputies understand or realise this, but staff numbers were really depleted in both call centres and branches. There is no leave reserve system in the banks. In normal employments there is a one-in-seven leave reserve system such that an additional person is hired so all staff can go on leave. That does not apply in the banks. I guarantee the committee that there were phone calls today between branches that resulted in people having to travel in order that branches could open because they do not even have minimum staffing. We are not there yet. The banks have committed to resourcing, but they need to be transparent, and that is where the transparency piece of our suggestion comes in. They should be transparent with the numbers. They should tell people that they will staff up to their complement in each branch across the country and in the call centres.