Five residents of a small Co Tipperary town are staging a sit-in at an AIB branch in protest against the bank's decision to close for two days per week.
The five men entered the Killenaule AIB branch at 4 p.m. yesterday evening and have remained there since. According to Mr Philip Joyce, a local solicitor, the five are acting independently to try to make AIB defer its decision to close the branch on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Mr Joyce told ireland.comthe protesters were seeking a meeting with Mr John Hickey, General Manager for AIB's retail branches to negotiate a compromise. He said the five men "feared the partial closure would lead to full closure of the branch," which is the only banking facility in the town.
This suggestion was strongly denied by Ms Catherine Burke, spokeswoman for AIB. She said a lack of demand for services was the reason for the midweek closures.
"The partial closure is nothing more than it is. AIB even has plans to refurbish the branch in the immediate future," she added.
"The branch had been opening for two hours each Tuesday and Wednesday but there was no demand for services so we decided to close." To compensate, opening hours on Thursdays and Fridays have been extended, she added.
Mr Tony Falvey, Assistant Manager of the Killenaule branch told ireland.comthis morning the protesters had stayed in the branch overnight with two bank security staff for company. "We're all locals and the sit-in is a very amicable affair," he said. The branch is closed for business today.
The nearest bank to Killenaule is seven miles away in the town of Fethard. The only other banking facility in the town is a post-office. According to Mr Joyce, half a dozen local politicians, including Mr Michael Lowry and Ms Marie Hoctor, have been made aware of the sit-in.
At Killenaule Garda Station, Sergeant Bolger stated gardaí were "keeping an eye on the situation to ensure that there is no breach of the peace." When asked if the protesters were committing an offence he told ireland.com: "If there is any offence it will be a civil one and it would be up to AIB to take any action over it."