Bank of Ireland is to cut the opening hours of its manned telephone banking service, Banking 365, by 50 per cent later this month. Sales agents are currently available to assist callers with queries and transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week but from March 19th, callers will only be able to speak to an official from 8 a.m. to midnight, Monday to Friday, and between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Some 10 per cent of callers use the Banking 365 telephone service outside these hours.

A bank spokeswoman said the move was a direct response to the low level of demand for sales agent assistance during off-peak hours. Routine services would continue to be available on the self-service menu around the clock, she added.

Some 350 bank officials are employed in the Banking 365 call centres in Tallaght, Co Dublin, and in Kilkenny. Staff affected by the change will be redeployed elsewhere within the bank. The bank was not willing to disclose how much money would be saved by withdrawing the overnight and weekend cover but said it did not make economic sense to continue with a service that was not in demand.

Bank of Ireland's telephone banking service has 300,000 active users. The Banking 365 call centres handled some 8.5 million calls last year. "With 80 per cent of all calls completed by self-service, there is no logic in continuing to provide a little-used service during off-peak hours," the spokeswoman said.