Mr. John Palmer:

The Deputy made a point about putting machines in Dublin, where it is lucrative, and taking them out of Galway. We carried out analysis in this regard. There are big regional differences, particularly considering the number of ATMs per 100,000 people. That is why we went for the regional solution. For instance, the region with the most ATMs per 100,000 population is the Border, at approximately 95, while the region with the fewest is the mid east, with approximately 73 per 100,000 population. Coverage in the Border area within 10 km is just under 99%, however, while in the mid east it is 100%. The Deputy is interested in a 5 km criterion. In the Border region, just under 80% are within 5 km of an ATM, while the figure for the mid east is 91%. These figures illustrate the very different settlement patterns and the distribution of population throughout the country. We have gone for the regional solution in order to avoid all the machines ending up in cities and none in rural towns.