Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this evening's discussion and debate on the difficulties facing the Irish banking sector. I acknowledge the Minister's contribution and the challenges faced by the banks in the market. More importantly tonight, our concern is about the employees and those who have lost their jobs. The news that Ulster Bank intends to exit the market after 160 years, as the Minister noted, is worrying not only for the banking sector but for the economy itself, as is the news of Bank of Ireland's decision to close 103 branches across Ireland.

My thoughts are with the staff of those institutions as they face a very uncertain future, particularly at this time. Retail banking is going through a period of uncertainty and change, and the future will be challenging. However, there are some encouraging signs, particularly the NatWest announcement that it is in early discussions with PTSB on the retail network and has reached a memorandum of understanding with AIB on certain commercial loans. I call on the Minister to convene a high level task force of stakeholders to examine the future of banking in Ireland. As other colleagues mentioned previously, we need to look at what the future of banking will be in Ireland. How is it going to interact with retail customers in terms of providing a retail or high street banking service, and also with commercial businesses? We need to ensure that there is an offering that is both tangible and accessible. We must ensure that towns have access to retail banking facilities. This does not just affect rural Ireland; Dublin is also impacted by the latest decisions. We must ensure that SMEs have access to credit and lending facilities and that people have access to mortgage facilities. Credit unions and the An Post network have a vital role to play as intermediaries in the banking sector. I hope that Bank of Ireland proceeds with its proposal involving An Post but investment in IT, facilities and training will be required. I ask the Minister to encourage and ensure such investment is made because as the face of retail banking in Ireland changes, we must make sure that we keep up with modern advances. We must also ensure access to lending facilities for SMEs. This is something that the high level stakeholder group could examine. It is critical that we retain a banking sector that is diverse, modern and that serves customers and the Irish economy.

From the Minister's own discussions with the banks, is there a possibility of a new entrant, perhaps from Europe, to the Irish market? Obviously, I note the Minister's comments on Ulster Bank and the lack of profitability but it would be a great shame if we could not entice another operator into the Irish market.

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