101 Bank of Ireland branches closed due to Covid-19

101 Bank of Ireland branches across Ireland have been temporarily closed.

Bank of Ireland announced on Monday that from Tuesday 24 March onward, 101 of its branches will be closed. This leaves 148 branches that will be open nationwide with the normal hours and will provide a full service to customers. A further 13 locations will be advice and self service branches, which provide cash and cheque lodgement and cash withdrawal facilities through self-service devices, but do not offer a counter service. Every Bank of Ireland branch will continue to provide an external ATM cash withdrawal service. The closures come due to a lack of footfall and an increased demand in other areas as a result of Covid-19. A full list of Bank of Ireland branches that will remain open can be found here. Bank of Ireland issued a statement to JOE on Monday, which reads: "Over the past ten days, the Bank has seen a reduction in footfall in branches, predominantly at Advice and Self Service locations, while at the same time there has been an increase in customers needing a range of other supports. "The changes announced today will allow colleagues from temporarily closed branches to support the Bank’s larger branches and help contact centres manage the increased volume of customers requiring Covid-19 support, especially for Mortgage and SME loan payment breaks." Discussing the changes, Gavin Kelly, CEO Retail Ireland, said: "We’re constantly reviewing our operations to ensure we are providing the right supports for customers through this challenging period. "These changes help us to respond to the most pressing needs of our customers right now – that’s support in managing the impact of coronavirus on their personal finances and on their businesses. "These changes also refocus our branch network to our larger locations, which will help us support social distancing. "This is extremely important for our customers and colleagues, whose safety and wellbeing is our priority. This will complement the enhanced cleaning and hygiene measures we have in place in our branches."