Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He was the person the branch managers chose and he acted admirably to come to an agreement on which we all agreed until it was not agreed on 19 February. However, if anyone wants to open the door and start that process again, we will be there in a flash. Let that be put on the record first.

Second, again, I have no idea where the rumours and innuendo about branch closures are coming from. All I can tell the Deputy is that the Department's footprint of branch managers' offices are based on citizens' needs and the only reasons they would ever change is either on the basis of the provision of enhanced services to citizens or in a case in which there were no more citizens to whom to provide services. In Baltinglass, for argument's sake, one of our branch managers is retiring and we are going to open a local office ourselves in that office. Deputy O'Dea wants a guarantee from me that the Department will never close a branch office.

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