The Bank of Ireland ATM at Bagenalstown last weekend 

By Suzanne Pender

FOR the third weekend in a row, the people of Bagenalstown have been left “high and dry with no cash”, with the ATM at the town’s only bank deemed ‘out of order’.

The ATM at Bank of Ireland in Bagenalstown has been unable to dispense cash for three successive weekends, leaving customers seriously inconvenienced.

“Is it a case where the bank wants people to use cards instead of cash? I think it is,” said cllr Andy Gladney.

“Have they no consideration for people? Leaving them high and dry with no cash … maybe some fella trying to get his wages or have money for the family’s shopping. In all fairness, it was the taxpayers who bailed out the banks – the least we should expect is a decent service from them,” added cllr Gladney.

It is understood that the ATM at Bank of Ireland, Bagenalstown has been operating Monday to Friday, but the issue of the machine declared ‘out of order’ seems only to occur at the weekends.

Cllr Arthur McDonald raised the issue at Monday’s meeting of Carlow County Council and called on the council to write to Bank of Ireland demanding a better service in Bagenalstown.

“If we are talking about getting serious about encouraging vibrancy in our towns, it is not on for the bank machine to be out of service every weekend … it’s totally unacceptable,” said cllr McDonald.

“We need a second machine. When you take into account that there’s no bank in Goresbridge or Borris, that machine is servicing a large area,” he added.

Cllr McDonald added that the situation was unfair on smaller shops, particularly those without card facilities.

Cllr Gladney accepted there are two other ATM options in local shops in Bagenalstown, but customers should be able to expect a “decent service from their bank”.