Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Finance, I have no role in the commercial decisions made by any bank in the State. This includes banks in which the State has a shareholding.

Decisions in this regard, including the management of branch or ATM networks, are the sole responsibility of the board and management of the banks which must be run on an independent and commercial basis. The independence of banks in which the State has a shareholding is protected by Relationship Frameworks which are legally binding documents that cannot be changed unilaterally. These frameworks, which are publicly available, were insisted upon by the European Commission to protect competition in the Irish market. The Permanent TSB Relationship Framework can be found at the following link:

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Permanent TSB issued a press release on 16^thMarch announcing its commitment to maintaining its branch network. In the same announcement the bank confirmed that it has introduced Quick Banking Machines into 44 branches which will automate cash transactions and free staff to support customers. The bank added that with the exception of coins, these machines can handle all the cash transactions associated with a cash desk.

The bank’s full press release can be found at the following link: www.permanenttsbgroup.ie/permanent-tsb-retail-director-confirms-commitment-maintaining-branch-network.