The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has called for a guarantee on future banking services across the country.
President of the farming organisation, Pat McCormack welcomed the decision of AIB to reverse the decision to remove cash related services from 70 branches.
He said the proposal “would have had a disproportionate impact on specific rural towns and their associated hinterlands”.
“ICMSA had called for action from government following the AIB decision and the outcome is certainly a step in right direction,” McCormack said.
“But what is required is a guarantee that banking services including cash services will be retained in these towns going forward which is hugely important for the economic and social development of these towns but also from a security perspective.
“The AIB decision earlier this week was a direct attack on rural Ireland, the bedrock of which is the family farms which operate in every townland in Ireland,” he continued.
“It is essential that the key components of economic activity in rural Ireland are supported and this includes the need for local banking services as well as the normal public services that are taken for granted in urban areas,” the ICMSA president concluded.
Just three days after announcing it would make 70 branches cashless, the bank announced today (Friday, July 22) that it was scrapping the move due to “customer and public unease”
AIB had cited a dramatic increase in the use of digital banking services and a decline in branch visits and cash usage as a reason for the move.