Up to 1000 protest in ferbane

Up to 1,000 protesters marched through the streets of Ferbane this lunchtime in opposition to the proposed closure of the town's only bank next year.

Campaigners say the bank gave a commitment to retain the branch when sub-branches in Shannonbridge, Cloghan and Kilcormac were closed. They also said the bank had pledged not to close a branch in a town where there is no other bank. 

Account holders from Ferbane and the surrounding areas have been informed that their accounts are to be moved 20kms away to the Athlone branch. They are concerned about the possible implications for local businesses and security.   

Laois/Offaly TD Barry Cowen said the communities in Ferbane and the wider West Offaly area had been loyal, committed and faithful to Ulster Bank through the years. 'It is a duty on it, if it has any social conscience whatsoever, to listen and take note to this community,' he remarked.

Deputy Cowen said 'I have no doubt that if that CEO takes on board and listens attentively and has any conscience at all, let alone the 4,000 customers that exist in this hinterland,  I have no doubt that he will be taken aback by the effort and the commitment and the loyalty and of the business that will ensue from  this community.'   

He called on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to listen to the representations of the councillors and representatives of the area and insist that the CEO assist the community.  

Ferbane Action Group Member Diarmuid Guinan said:  'It is not good enough for Ulster Bank to say, do your banking in another town 15 or 20 miles away. It is not good enough for Ulster Bank to say the promises we made about keeping this branch open were made in a different time. It is not good enough for them to say that their own customer charter which hung on the wall in this very bank and pledged to remain open if this was the only bank in town, that that is not what they really meant.' 

Do the people of rural communities have a voice?, asked Mr Guinan. 'Do we have a say in the kind of Ireland we wish to live in or should we just all pack up and move to the urban centres? Should we close down our communities?' he asked the gathering. 

'Is the best that we can hope for rural Ireland that some towns and villages might be lucky to survive as some form of theme park for the amusement of tourists? Well we the people of Offaly say no,' he told the crowd. 

Mr Guinan said Ulster Bank has been in the town for 100 years. He called on the CEO of Ulster Bank and the CEO of RBS to prove their claims that the bank is a customer focused bank by keeping the branch open.

Laois/Offaly Fine Gael Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy criticised Ulster Bank's CEO for failing to respond to a request for a meeting with herself and deputy Barry Cowen. 

She said 'I realise they are a commercial entity but at the end of the day they should have some respect not only for the community at large but also for the public representatives.' 

Deputy Corcoran Kennedy called on the CEO to meet with all of the local representatives. 'If he does not we will take this with a very dim view and I think it's an absolute disgrace that they will not listen to the genuine, sincere held views of ourselves'

Local businessman Pat O'Callaghan noted Ulster Bank's values were trust and a sense of integrity. He read out a  2010 the RBS customer commitment to retain services in a town where there is no other bank. 'We ask RBS and Ulster Bank please honour your commitment,' he said.

'Ulster Bank has a significant customer base in Ferbane and its hinterland,' Mr O'Callaghan remarked. 'The community is prepared to do its part but if Ulster Bank leaves Ferbane, Ferbane will leave Ulster Bank,' he concluded.

Offaly IFA Chairman John Keena said he had raised the issue with the IFA President Eddie Downey. He told the crowd that he is a loyal customer of Ulster Bank and he called for a bit of loyalty in return from the bank. 

Action groups spokesman Brian Flynn vowed the campaign would continue even if that meant protesting at Ulster Banks headquarters in Dublin. 'We are not trying to change the world. We are trying to get one bank to reverse one bad decision,' he remarked.