Labour petition to stop bank branch closures

A petition asking to stop the planned closures of the Kilcullen and Monasterevin branches of Bank of Ireland has been initiated by the Kildare South Labour Party, writes Brian Byrne.

The move is based on a number of issues which the closures will bring, including that vulnerable people will face additional barriers to access many banking services.

Senator Mark Wall also notes that Kilcullen residents and businesses will need to go to either Newbridge of Naas to access their nearest bank branch, and those from Monasterevin face a 20km round trip to their nearest branch.

People can sign the petition here.

Meanwhile, the constituency's Sinn Fein TD Patricia Ryan, in a statement, said the announcement of the closures during a pandemic shows a 'complete disregard for staff, bank customers and Government policy'. Her party has called on the Minister for Finance and the Central Bank to 'urgently intervene and make it clear that all branch closures should be off the table for at least the next two years'.

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