Offshore banking of a different kind as an Automatic Teller Machine is installed on the Aran Island of Inis Mór.
Thousands of visitors come to on Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands off the coast of County Galway. While there is some access to banking facilities on the island, the lack of ready access to cash causes difficulties for both visitor and islander alike.
This is set to change with the arrival of Ireland's first offshore Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) at Elizabeth Mullen’s supermarket in Kilronan, Inis Mór.
News of the ATM is greeted favourably by an American tourist who was planning to return to the mainland to withdraw cash.
A woman feels the ATM will make a big difference, particularly to young people.
A local man thinks the ATM will be useful for people coming to the Island especially when the bank is not open at the weekend and there is a shortage of money.
I think it will be a big improvement to the people coming to the island.
Over the next year Bank of Ireland are planning the installation of 500 ATMs in shops and other locations around rural Ireland. There are fears about an increased security risk as a result. However Bank of Ireland has addressed these concerns by stating money will be removed from the ATM every night.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 8 May 2003. The reporter is Uinsionn Mac Dubhghaill
