DUBLIN, Ireland–The Bank of Ireland is being strongly criticized by elected officials for the loss of financial institution branches in many towns, who are adding calls for expanded powers for credit unions and the country’s Post Office.
A recent announcement by Bank of Ireland that it will be moving to introduce 100 cashless branches out of its 250 prompted a concerned Councilor James Kelly to send a letter to the Minister for Finance.
In the letter, Kelly is asking for more power for credit unions and Post Offices to “provide the local services that the banks are taking away from our communities.”
“It is a major concern, considering that Bank of Ireland reported a profit of €480 million in the first half of 2017,” he said, according to the Leinster Express. “This will have a major impact on local communities and businesses, it is a big slap in the face for our elderly. They want you to go online but a lot of older people have never been online, the very people who bailed out the banks.”
Kelly stated that among the services disappearing at the big banks are no foreign currency exchanges, no coin, and a limit on cash withdrawals. As a result, Kelly is calling for those services to be offered by credit unions and post offices “to protect communities.”
Councilor Mary Sweeney, who works in Portlaoise library, told the publication, “I see it in work every day. People come in asking to print off their bank statements, because the bank won’t even print their documents. It is a derogatory, backward move, showing incredible arrogance,” she said.