Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would like to extend a welcome to Mr. John McCallister MLA and Mr. Basil McCrea MLA. As a fellow Donegal man from Ramelton, a very good town just outside Letterkenny, Mr. McCrea is very welcome to the Chamber.

I ask that we debate the future of retail banking in rural areas. I have an office in a small town, Raphoe, where at one stage there were three banks, two building societies, a post office and a credit union. Now, there is just one bank, Ulster Bank, and the news in the past few days is that Ulster Bank is closing branches. We all know the structural problems and the debts of the banks. On the ground, however, where banks are part of the community, we have to maintain at least one of the pillar banks in small towns that have businesses. For example, Raphoe has two secondary schools, a cattle mart and departmental offices. It is important that the banks, which have been supported by the community, now support the community. I ask that the Minister come to the House to outline some kind of roadmap for the future of the small retail banking offices that are in every small town in the country. If Ulster Bank closes in a small town like Raphoe, all that will be left is the credit union, which, while it will have an opportunity to develop, is a different type of banking facility, and the post office, which provides a different service. I ask that the Minister for Finance or the Minister of State at that Department come to the House to tell us whether they have a roadmap for rural towns, which need banks to help to promote their areas. I ask that we get some clarity from Ulster Bank on what closures it intends to implement.