Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I asked the Minister to do everything in his power to ensure the bank branches that have closed temporarily because of Covid-19 will reopen when it is safe to do so. On 24 March, Bank of Ireland closed its branches in Monasterevin and Kilcullen in County Kildare, along with approximately 99 other branches throughout the country.

Most of these branches are in small rural towns. They are an integral part of the community within those towns and the smaller branches are a key part of the local economy in the likes of Monasterevin and Kildare. They are particularly important to people who are older and not equipped to follow the trends that banks are pushing towards online banking. I have written to Gavin Kelly, CEO of Retail Ireland for Bank of Ireland. Despite being asked directly if he can confirm that the branches in Monasterevin and Kilcullen will reopen, he has refused to confirm this. The presence of a bank in a small town is a key reason small businesses choose to locate there. Such banks are also an important consideration when people choose to move to rural areas. We have already seen Covid-19 used as an excuse by Debenhams to close its Irish stores. I would not like to see this crisis used by our very profitable banks to offload branches that may be as profitable or, more importantly, offload workers who may be on a higher rate of pay because of their expertise. I am glad to see that the Debenhams workers have a very active campaign, aptly named The Devil Wears Debenhams. I urge people to stand in solidarity with employees of Debenhams in Ireland and not to purchase items from Debenhams under any circumstances. This is a company that has transferred its assets to England in an apparent attempt to avoid having to make redundancy payments that are due to staff here. Workers in Laura Ashley, Oasis and Warehouse have also become victims of the virus of greed. It is high time we had a government that stands up for ordinary workers and their families and puts the common good ahead of vested interests. We need to ensure that the banks, which will not pay corporation tax for many years to come, make some effort to show contrition for what happened in the decade appropriately referred to as the noughties. The very least we can expect is that local branches in small towns stay open and available to their customers.

As this is my maiden speech, I would like to thank the people of south Kildare and the Portarlington-Laois area who put their trust in me and my party, Sinn Féin. I assure them that I will work to the best of my ability to represent them in this House. I would also like to thank my husband Michael and my two sons, Conor and Mitchell.

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