Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Finance, I have no role in commercial and operational decisions in any particular bank, even one in which the State has a shareholding. Decisions in this regard are the sole responsibility of the board and management of the banks, which must be run on an independent and commercial basis. This independence is protected by a Relationship Framework which is a legally binding document that cannot be changed unilaterally. This framework, which is publicly available, was insisted upon by the European Commission to protect competition in the Irish market.

Not withstanding the above, officials in my department have contacted AIB and PTSB in relation to this query and each bank have provided the below information:

PTSB

We have one fully vacant former branch office; Bishopstown in Cork.

After acquiring the twenty five Ulster branches in January of 2023, PTSB amalgamated its Bishopstown branch into the nearby (former UB branch) in Wilton, one of the twenty five we had acquired.

Group Property subsequently put the Bishopstown branch on the market. We are now sale agreed on that property, with the sale expected to close in the next few weeks. PTSB values all of its freeholds. PTSB has the Bishopstown property on its balance sheet (Oct 31^st , 2023 valuation) at €900,000.

AIB

We have two properties that are owned by the bank which are vacant. One in Gweedore and one on O’Connell Street in Dublin.