Wicklow councillor’s plan targets online banks to help revive Leitrim and rural areas

Wicklow Fine Gael Councillor Peter Stapleton has stressed the critical need for the Government to implement effective measures in Budget 2025 to support the vitality of towns like Drumshanbo and Manorhamilton, especially in relation to banking services.

Cllr Stapleton believes online banks should be super-levied for a fund to restore rural towns and villages. He emphasised the potential benefits for Leitrim towns Drumshanbo and Manorhamilton if this is adopted. Stapleton argued that the absence of physical bank branches has severely impacted these communities, and a restructured bank levy could help restore their vibrancy.

In 2021, Bank of Ireland closed its branches in Manorhamilton and Drumshanbo. Manorhamilton now hosts a single bank, AIB, while Drumshanbo is served by a Credit Union.

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“Bank of Ireland shamefully closed branches in Leitrim towns Drumshanbo and Manorhamilton and those towns could be beneficiaries of community gain in a re-structured bank levy,” Cllr Stapleton said.

“If online banks are only to take the upside of profit, it is ultimately bad for communities in Ireland. Banks were the heart of many towns.

“In the town where I live in Co Wicklow, Tinahely, the bank branch made a huge difference but once it was closed by Bank of Ireland, customers drifted to towns that still had bank branches to do their business, shopping and services.”

“The current bank levy raises €200 million a year for the Exchequer.  Online banks should be super-levied and this money should be designated for a fund to revitalise rural towns and villages,” Cllr Stapleton explained.

“We need to get back to where Irish market towns were once hubs of great activity.  They had lots of different services, including banks and post offices. 

“In rural Ireland, people have to drive vast distances to get to a physical bank branch that has cash and services.”

Cllr. Stapleton has proposed a two-tiered levy system: banks with physical branches and full services would face a lower levy, while those with fewer services or no branches would pay a higher levy.

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“Our rural towns cannot afford any more gaping holes either so the Minister for Finance should not miss a chance to act in Budget 2025. It will be good for banking too, bringing in a level playing pitch for once,” Cllr Stapleton concluded.