Tánaiste Mary Coughlan told the Dáil today the Government received official notification of Bank of Scotland Ireland's intention to close 44 branches prior to the official announcement on Tuesday.
Ms Coughlan also said she had received assurances from Bank of Scotland Ireland (BoSI) that customers will be kept informed of how they stand by the bank.
Earlier this week, BoSI announced plans to close its 44 Halifax branches in Ireland with the loss of 750 jobs.
The bank is cutting 400 jobs across the nationwide Halifax branch network, 220 jobs at a specialist finance unit in the head office on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin and 130 posts at its customer service centre in Dundalk.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment said both the Taoiseach's office and her department had received notification of BoSI's decision before it was publicly announced.
Ms Coughlan added the bank had been in discussions with the Department of Finance "for a considerable amount of time" to seek alternative options to branch closures.
"Unfortunately, following on from those considerations they were not in a position to continue with the banking facilities they provide in this country," she said.
Ms Coughlan said she had been in contact with senior officials at the bank and with unions yesterday over issues arising from BoSI's decision to close the branches.
The Tánaiste said she had received assurances that affected consumers would be kept fully informed of developments by the bank.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen yesterday said BoSI has indicated it intends to continue in the Republic as “an independent entity”.
The bank's decision to close means more than 50,000 credit card and current account customers will have to move their business to other financial institutions.
BoSI said on Tuesday it was withdrawing from the Irish retail banking market after a review found Halifax was too small to survive as a result of the financial crisis and the recession.
The closure of the branch network comes just four years after the Halifax chain was opened.
