No indication when BOI office will reopen
BUSINESS owners and residents in Ballybunion are still without a Bank of Ireland service over five-weeks after Storm Brendan caused damage to the local branch office.
Customers must make an 18-mile round-trip to Listowel to carry out transactions, which is posing a security risk on top of being a major inconvenience for people.
When the branch office initially closed due to storm damage in January, Bank of Ireland told customers it was assessing the works with a view to reopening as soon as possible.
In a response to a query from The Kerryman, Bank of Ireland apologised for the inconvenience and said they are continuing to assess the building’s viability.
The service, which operates on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, has operated for over half a century and many people are concerned for the future of the service.
Extra staff have been put in place by the bank in its Listowel branch to help deal with the fallout from the closure of its Ballybunion office.One local resident contacted the bank a week ago to be told it was still ‘an ongoing situation’ that is being assessed.
Padraig Hanrahan, of Ballybunion Health & Leisure Centre, said he also contacted the bank last week.
“They haven’t given me any indication when they’re re-opening, only just that they are still sorting it out,” he said.
“It’s an inconvenience in the sense we have to travel to Listowel instead of having a bank on our doorstep.
“There is a danger they could decide to keep it closed. But they have never indicated this.”