Brendan Smith warns bank closures threaten border communities

Thank you very much, Alaska and Corle. As we know, the banking landscape is changing dramatically in this country. The departure of Ulster Bank will impact very severely the border region in particular, and also the KBC are leaving our country. The decision by the Bank of Ireland to close the thought of its branch network has also caused great disquiet in so many, many communities right throughout the country. At the same time, as these bank closures are happening, households and businesses still need traditional banking services as much as ever. So we hope that the Minister can give us some good news in relation to a banking forum. Thank you. Could I check, is this the question that is attributed to Deputy McGuinness? Yes. Okay, thank you. So, Minister for State Fleming and I, as well as my officials, have had regular contact with the financial services union. Over the past year in particular, in light of the race of change in the sector, this has included increased engagement in relation to the future of banking. The issues that the Deputy has referred to are of course, very serious, and I am well aware of the different developments that he has detailed, and the concern that they have caused in the community that he represents. In short, I am just finalising a memo of information to Government in the coming weeks in relation to the terms of reference for a review of our banking sector. And once they have been presented to Government, I intend to publish the terms of reference shortly afterwards. This process will involve ongoing engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Financial Services Union. Thank you very much, Minister. And I know that the Financial Services Union appreciate the engagement you have had directly with them, and also with your Department of Officials. Because I raised a number of occasions here in the House, and in other, in topical issue debate, particularly when the Ulster Bank announced their departure from this country, and also the dramatic reduction in the number of bank branches of the Bank of Ireland. I asked you to ensure that there was good engagement with the Financial Services Union, because all of us would have had representations from their members, employees of the banks, who were very concerned about their future. A Minister, a forum or whatever particular body you establish, it needs to include all stakeholders, and I hope that naturally, along with the banks, customers, staff, management, trade unions, business employers and employers groups, that there can be also community interests represented in that particular forum as well. It is very important that we have the views of communities right throughout the country, as we reflect them here in this particular forum on a daily basis. It is important that communities have a message and that they have a mechanism to deliver their views in relation to the banking sector and the need to go how we go forward in regard to banking. Thank you. Thank you, Deputy, for that point. What I do anticipate is the review that we will bring forward will, of course, have the provision within it for submissions to be made to us and for communities to make their views known in relation to the development or the absence of banking services within their local community. In the interest of complete transparency to the Deputy, what I am envisaging here is a review. It will be a review that will be conducted by the Department of Finance, subject to Government approval. But as part of that review, there will be ample opportunity for important stakeholders in the Irish banking sector, those who work in it, those who depend on it for lending, for investment, to engage in this process and make their views clear. I thank the Minister. Minister, I think as a society we want to be more conscious of the people who do not have good literacy skills and people who have not had the opportunity to adopt IT skills. Those people find it very difficult to transact business today, particularly when they cannot call into a local branch. Minister, I think it behoves all of us to ensure that there is an opportunity for people to transact their business in a practical way and particularly people who may not have had the opportunity to acquire IT skills or who may not have access to broadband etc. So I think it is very important that those views are represented. Minister, as you are aware, the Central Bank of Britain and the Central Bank of New Zealand are conducting reviews in regard to the subject matter of access to cash. We often think of the ATM machines as just a mechanism to withdraw cash. They are an important lodgment facility as well. I know that in public banking meetings that were held throughout the country, local communities expressed concern about businesses, maybe hospitality and other retail businesses having to carry large amounts of cash and not having the opportunity to lodge that cash in a timely manner locally. So we need to address the issue of access to cash. Thank you. I know that there has been a decline in the use of cash for transactions, but I know for many it is still their preferred use of making payments, of initiating transactions. So I take your point. And the issue that you raised there about financial literacy is tied into the need for financial inclusion to ensure that all citizens do have the ability to participate in our financial system for there to be a place in which they can make a deposit in a way in which they can make payments in shops. And I do think this is the kind of issue that can be covered off in the review of our banking sector and banking policy, which, as I said, I'd expect the government will agree to very, very shortly. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.