Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As with other banks on the island, Ulster Bank experienced insolvency problems. Its parent, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, is under the regulatory control of the Bank of England rather than the Irish banking system. The bank had its problems and at one point some years ago, it looked as if it would pull out of Ireland completely. Such a scenario would have been a great loss, especially in the northern half of the country, both in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

We had some dialogue, including with Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, and we got assurances that the Bank of England would support the continuation of Ulster Bank services on the island. Ulster Bank will continue to trade as a competitive bank in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. However, because it had the kind of problems with which we are very familiar in the other banks, it began to cut its cost base and, in doing so, decided to close some branches.

To give the Deputy the overall picture, in June 2014, Ulster Bank had 79 branches in Northern Ireland. This figure declined to 74 in December 2014 and it is projected to fall further to 64 by March 2015. Ulster Bank had 135 branches in the Republic of Ireland in June 2014. This figure declined to 125 in December 2014 and it is projected to fall to 111 in March 2015. Notwithstanding this, Ulster Bank remains a strong retail bank trading on the high street. Of its original 214 branches North and South, 199 remained in December 2014 and the bank hopes the figure will settle at 175 in March 2015, with no further closures after that date. The bank will maintain a strong network.

On the specific case of Ferbane, it is always difficult when a bank that traditionally provided services leaves an area. This is hard on customers, residents and individual businesses. I see the Deputy's point of view and I will respond to his request and the requests of other Deputies in his constituency by asking my officials once more to contact senior figures in Ulster Bank requesting that they engage with the community and, in particular, further explore whether Ulster Bank can enter into an arrangement with An Post to provide alternative services for the people of Ferbane and other towns from which it is withdrawing banking services. I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which deserves to be highlighted.

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