Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 December 2021
51. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Finance if he will review correspondence (details supplied); if he or his Department can assist with this; if he can provide advice on this matter to the local authority or a contact in the bank to explore this matter further; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60745/21]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Finance, I have no role in the commercial decisions made by any bank in the State. This includes banks in which the State has a shareholding.
Decisions in this regard, including the management of branch networks, are the sole responsibility of the board and management of the banks, which must be run on an independent and commercial basis. The independence of banks in which the State has a shareholding is protected by Relationship Frameworks which are legally binding documents that cannot be changed unilaterally. These frameworks, which are publicly available, were insisted upon by the European Commission to protect competition in the Irish market. The Bank of Ireland Relationship Framework can be found on my department's website.
Accordingly, the use of the bank branch you refer to is a matter for Bank of Ireland. A Department of Finance official will contact you directly with the details of the appropriate person in Bank of Ireland to liaise with in relation to this matter.
