Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has said he will monitor the matter very carefully, which is good, as we will monitor it very carefully too, as I am sure the workers in Ulster Bank will do as well. The concern here is that a bank that has made much profit through the years has hit a bump in the road and lost €276 million, according to its report for the first six months of this year, because of the Covid-19 crisis. The bank is going to make a short-term decision to put profit above the needs of the workers, mortgage holders and communities. That must not be allowed to happen.

There has been some speculation that a bank in which the State has majority ownership, Permanent TSB, could potentially take over if there was an attempt to withdraw Ulster Bank from the market here. This would effectively be a form of nationalisation, although I would like to see a form of nationalisation that would really prioritise the needs of the workers, the mortgage holders and the communities. We will also be monitoring the position very carefully.

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