Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The concern of the employees and those who use the facilities of Ulster Bank, particularly, as Deputy Smith notes, in constituencies like mine and the Border constituencies where the bank still has a significant presence, despite a retrenchment over recent years, is if the Minister will communicate directly with NatWest. Does the Government intend to engage actively in the process or will the Minister just monitor this as everybody else will do?

I know the Minister for Finance is not the shareholder and the bank is owned by a party in another jurisdiction. Has the Minister any intention to reach out or engage with parties? Is there any plan B? We need competition and for staff employment to be retained. We need that presence in communities, many of which are rural. There are options to increase the presence of existing banks or, as we have seen, new players in the market. Unfortunately, these new players do not seem to want a physical branch structure but nonetheless, there may be opportunities. Does the Minister intend to engage directly with those involved?

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