Jimmy Harte (Labour)

I welcome the happy couple to the Visitors Gallary. I hope they have a good honeymoon in the country and a good life ahead.

The issue I wish to raise is related to what Senator Kelly stated about small rural post offices and banks. In Donegal, like other rural counties, there are one or two banks in a town and the prospect of them closing down means people may have to travel distances to lodge money or meet their bank manager. If we have a banking inquiry in the autumn we should ask representatives from the banks about their plans for rural banks. Inishowen in Donegal has two banks and if both closed the nearest town would be ten or 12 miles away. The banks must come clean with rural communities and tell them how they view their future role. I welcome the role of the post office in banking but it could not be expected to carry out all of the work a bank does, particularly with regard to financial planning. This could be related to Senator Bacik's call for a banking inquiry.