Locals will have uphill battle to keep ulster bank open in athboy

Members of the local community in Athboy gathered on Monday evening to discuss the impending closure of the Ulster Bank branch in the town.

The bank recently announced its intention to close two branches in County Meath - in Athboy and Ashbourne - in March as the UK-owned institution restructures its business in the Republic of Ireland.

The meeting, which was hosted in the Darnley Lodge Hotel, was well-attended according to organiser and Sinn Féin TD, Peadar Tóibín.

'The purpose of the meeting was to push as hard as we could for the retention of Ulster Bank in Athboy,' he said. 'If we don't meet our objective - and we know it's going to be an uphill battle and very difficult - we are going to be pushing for the bank to leave a large part of its services accessible through the post office system. At the very least, we will be demanding a functioning Ulster Bank ATM in the town.'

A number of years ago, Ulster Bank closed its Delvin branch and many customers used the Athboy branch for their day-to-day banking activity. This compounds the problem facing Athboy, according to Deputy Tóibín, as the town now faces significantly decreased footfall arising from the bank's closure.

'Customers in Athboy are being asked to go to Ulster Bank branches in Trim or Navan, but there has been cuts to the bus services from Athboy to Trim. As a result, it's going to be hard for people to get to Trim from Athboy,' he added.

Meanwhile, the bank's call for customers to adopt digital technologies won't suit all customers. In a statement issued to the Meath Chronicle, a spokesperson for Ulster Bank said: 'More and more of our customers are using digital technology to bank with us where and when it is convenient for them.'

He added: 'Closing a branch is never an easy decision and one we do not take lightly. The decision to close any branch is made on a case-by-case basis, based on local information, and we continue to invest in a range of channels to respond to how our customers prefer to do their banking.'

Local independent councillor and businessman, David Gilroy, has also described Ulster Bank's decision to close its Athboy branch as 'disappointing' given the potential impact on the community and staff who now face the prospect of redundancy.

'At a time when the credit union is investing heavily in the community by supporting the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival, the banks are deciding not to support the community that supported them for so long,' he said. 'People are very disappointed that the bank is closing. It's another light off on the street at a time when we're trying to keep life in the town.'

Ulster Bank is now in the process of writing to affected customers to inform them of alternative branch locations and the range of banking services available to them.

While Meath is losing two branches in this latest round of restructuring, further branch closures in the county are not foreseen in 2015. 'While we keep our points of presence under constant review in response to customer behaviour, we currently have no further plans to reduce our branch numbers in 2015,' the bank's spokesperson added.

Sinn Fein councillor Johnny Guirke has called for a bank guarantee for small towns like Athboy. 'It's time Athboy and all small towns got their own bank guarantee. I don’t care who does it - the Department of Rural and Community Affairs, the Department of Finance, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Department of Justice and Equality, take your pick - the bottom line is, Athboy must be guaranteed it will have a bank for the future.'

According to Cllr Guirke, the ordinary people of Ireland who saved AIB and Bank of Ireland are no longer of any interest to the banks' bosses and their custom is no longer valued.

'The ordinary people of Ireland are our country's lifeblood, local and indigenous businesses make up over 99 per cent of businesses in the enterprise economy in Ireland and account for almost 70 per cent of people employed,' he said.

'What sort of message are the people of Athboy getting? Basically, we have the worst roads in Ireland, and Teagasc rank Athboy 280th out 302 rural towns in terms of economic strength,' added Cllr Guirke. 'Now Ulster Bank is leaving and people are completely dependent on the goodwill of Bank of Ireland to remain open. It does not bode well for Athboy.'