Rose Conway-Walsh: Calls for Action Over Bellihonis Bank Closure
Rose Conway-Walsh spoke about the threatened closure of the Bank of Ireland branch in Bellihonis, arguing it would undermine rural recovery and regional development. She urged the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance to meet banking executives and to engage with the Bellihonis Chamber of Commerce and the Community Council to seek reconsideration.
Bellihonis leading local recovery
Rose Conway-Walsh highlighted Bellihonis as a town leading the way in recovery after a challenging time in rural Ireland, praising the Chamber of Commerce, the Community Council and local volunteers for making it an attractive place to live and work.
Threat of Bank of Ireland closure
She warned that for months the threatened closure of the Bank of Ireland branch has cast a shadow over the town and surrounding area, saying that a financial institution withdrawing vital services runs contrary to the programme for government on revitalising small towns.
Request to the Taoiseach and Minister for Finance
Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance to meet with banking executives and ask them to reconsider their decision about the Bellihonis branch, and to engage directly with the Bellihonis Chamber of Commerce and the Community Council.
Government measures cited
The speech noted that the Bank of Ireland is a private institution and takes its own decisions, while the Government has used measures such as on post, remote working hubs, enterprise centres, the Housing for All strategy and the town first strategy to revitalise towns and encourage investment.
Engagement with banks and regional footprint
She recorded that when the Government meets with banks it repeatedly stresses the need to retain and maintain their regional and rural footprint, underlining the importance of that presence to the commercial viability of towns and the Government's willingness to invest where it controls the levers.
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Thaiseach, I note earlier on when you said you're very committed to regional development, particularly in the west and the northwest, but towns like Bellihonis are leading the way and driving the recovery after the challenging time we've been through in rural Ireland and indeed after the collapse of the banking system and the excellent work done by the Chamber of Commerce, the Community Council and other voluntary groups and individuals in the town is widely acknowledged and it makes one of the most attractive towns to live and work in. They're to the forefront of inclusiveness and rural development, but for months now the threatened closure of the Bank of Ireland has cast a shadow over this town and surrounding area and for a financial institution to be allowed just to turn its back and withdraw these vital services run contrary to the programme for government in revitalising small towns. Thaiseach, if you have not done so, can you and your Minister for Finance meet with the banking executives and ask them to reconsider their decision about the Bank in Bellihonis and to engage with the Bellihonis Chamber of Commerce and the Community Council in this regard? The Bank of the Bank of Ireland is a private institution. The Bank of Ireland is a private institution and takes us decisions. We, on our side, from the Government side, have decided to, through on post and through other initiatives such as the remote working hubs and enterprise centres, plus the Housing for All strategy in terms of housing, the town first strategy. You know, we're using our mechanisms to revitalise towns and to get investment back into towns on a number of fronts and obviously when we meet with the banks we've repeatedly set to them the need to retain and maintain their regional and rural footprint and the importance of that is to the commercial viability of towns. Where the Government directly itself has control of the levers, the Government are very anxious to put investment into towns like Bellihonis. Thank you Thaiseach. You
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