Three bank branches closing in Mayo today
THREE Bank of Ireland branches in Mayo will close their doors today.
The branches being closed by the bank are in Ballyhaunis, Charlestown and Kiltimagh.
From October, Bank of Ireland will operate a smaller branch network of 169 locations nationwide.
Customers affected by the closures can carry out a range of banking transactions at local post offices.
The bank has written to impacted customers of the closing branches to provide them with information.
The closures were announced last March.
An online petition launched by Ballyhaunis Chamber of Commerce to keep the local branch open had over 1,600 signatories.
The local community, they argued, had built and maintained the bank over the last century and were dependent on it for its future growth which is crucial to the economic future of the region.
In a statement, Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh described today’s Bank of Ireland branch closures as the wrong decision which will have serious consequences for customers, staff and the wider community.
She said: “The Bank of Ireland branch closures taking place today are the wrong decision and will come as a huge blow not only for customers and for staff but also for the wider community.
“Branches in Kiltimagh, Charlestown and Ballyhaunis are to close their doors today. My thoughts are with all the staff affected by this deeply upsetting decision.
“I am deeply concerned that this decision will leave vulnerable customers without access to essential services.
"It is vital that these services are protected so that all customers can access them fairly and locally, instead of facing long journeys to complete their banking.
"Not all customers are able to access their banking online and banks have a responsibility to ensure that they can meet customers’ needs to ensure fair access.
“Today’s closures will further damage communities that have already been economically left behind by government policy over the past decade.
“Research has found that bank branch closures reduce SME lending growth by 63 percent in affected areas, rising to 104 percent when it is the last branch in the area.
“The government must not sit idly by and allow these closures to continue. The government must stand up for local communities and make it clear to the Bank of Ireland that these closures must stop.
“The Minister for Finance is a major shareholder in Bank of Ireland, while the Government is charged with consumer protection. They have a responsibility to do all they can to put the interests of customers and communities first.
“The taxpayer poured €4.7 billion into Bank of Ireland during the financial crisis - the least the Irish people deserve from the bank is respect.
“The Bank of Ireland must immediately reverse these closures and halt any further planned closures."