Councillor calls on bank to reopen south Mayo branch

A LOCAL councillor has strongly criticised the decision of the Bank of Ireland to close their branch in Ballinrobe.

The branch is temporarily closed due to Covid-19 guidelines. Its ATM remains operational for lodgements and withdrawals.

Councillor Patsy O'Brien has written to the bank requesting that they re-open the Main Street facility.

In a social media post earlier, he explained: “The closure leaves no choice for service users who now have to do their transactions in Claremorris or Castlebar and with 1,500 people still working in the Ballinrobe area it is causing issues.

“There are serious concerns in Ballinrobe and I have asked the bank's head office to reverse their decision on the back of government guidelines to shop local and avoid travel and keep to 2km to your home during the pandemic.”

Councillor O'Brien said the bank had informed him that, as the course of the pandemic remains unclear and social distancing is likely to remain in place for some time, they couldn't be definitive regarding next steps at this stage. However, they are continuing to closely monitor all announcements from the National Public Health Emergency Team.

Some 161 branches nationwide are open as normal and the Business on Line, 365 online, and mobile banking services are available 24/7 for a range of banking services.

The bank said it was committed to supporting customers, colleagues and communities throughout this challenging time.