Ireland: Fears of bank closures in Ireland rise

Irish banks are facing pressure to shut their doors after a report by the US Department of Treasury showed that a number of them had closed accounts in recent months.

The Department of the Treasury released a report which found that banks had closed between 1,200 and 1,600 accounts over the past five years, of which around 800 had been dormant.

However, it said that some of the closed accounts had been opened by individuals who had no connection to Irish financial institutions and that they may be connected to people who had been in the banking system for several years.

“A number of bank branches in Ireland were subject to closure due to a lack of customers or clients, and in some cases a lack on the part of the bank to account for these accounts,” the report said.

Mr Eamonn Ó Muilleoir, the Minister for Finance, said that the Government had taken steps to help the banking sector, including by providing financial support to Irish banks to assist them with the closure of their accounts.””

Banks are subject to the same restrictions and risks as other businesses, and should take appropriate actions to protect the interests of their customers and the public, and ensure that any financial losses incurred are shared among customers and taxpayers.”

“This support has been made available by the Irish Government in conjunction with the UK and UK-based financial services providers, as well as other financial institutions,” he said.

“I want to emphasise that the support provided by the Government is aimed at the financial institutions that have the responsibility for providing support to the banking and other financial sectors in Ireland.”

He added that he hoped that the financial support would be extended to other Irish banks, and that he expected that banks would be able to return to business.

However the Department of Finance warned that this could be difficult, given that many Irish banks were still in business.

“The Department does not believe that Irish banks should be subject to these new restrictions and it would be inappropriate for the Government to impose new restrictions on Irish banks,” it said.

Mr Ó Mícheál O’Neill, the Irish director of the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the report raised questions about Ireland’s financial system and that there was a need to get a grip on the problems that the banks were facing.

“It is important that Irish institutions maintain a level playing field and a strong economy,” he told RTE.

He said that he was concerned about the effect on jobs in the Irish economy, particularly in rural areas.””

This is a global issue, and the issue in Ireland is particularly global.”

He said that he was concerned about the effect on jobs in the Irish economy, particularly in rural areas.

“These jobs are in the rural sector, but we are very concerned about them, because we don’t have the capacity to cope with the population of the Irish capital,” he added.

“If we do not have the right level of capacity to deal with these issues, then we will not be able, as a country, to get the kind of economic growth that we need to sustain our current population.”

Ireland is a big economy and we have a very strong middle class, and we need the financial sector to play a key role in that economy.

“The Government has set up an inquiry into the closure and the impact of the new restrictions.

Irish Independent