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Updated 7.43am
PRINCE CHARLES AND his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will begin their four-day visit to Ireland this afternoon in Galway.
The most notable event on today’s itinerary is a meeting with Sinn Féin’s President Gerry Adams, as well as his deputy Martin McGuinness.
The couple’s first day in Ireland will kick off at NUI Galway, where Charles will make two speeches.
He will then move to the Marine Institute and the Burren where he will meet Minister Simon Coveney. While her husband attends that event, Camilla will be taken to a number of locations in Galway city.
Tonight, there will be a private dinner with President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina at Louch Cutra.
There will be a strong security presence throughout but gardaí have said there are no specific threats against the pair.
Last weekend, three men appeared before the Special Criminal Court charged over dissident republican activity and the discovery of bomb parts. They were detained following raids ahead of the State visit by the members of the Royal family.
Sinn Féin’s decision
In contrast, Sinn Féin’s decision to meet with Prince Charles can be seen as a definite olive branch to the British monarchy as the wounds from the Troubles in the north continue to heal.
In a statement this week, the party confirmed some of its leadership received invites to various events.
“On Saturday an Ard Chomhairle decided that representatives of Sinn Féin would attend events as part of the visit of Prince Charles to Ireland,” the party’s national chairman Declan Kearney said.
“In line with the Ard Chomhairle decision both will meet with Prince Charles.”
The meeting will be the first between the leader of Sinn Féin and a member of the Royal Family in decades. It comes after McGuinness shook Queen Elizabeth’s hand in Belfast in 2012.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said that the visit “should be an opportunity to promote reconciliation” and build on the “good work done by Martin McGuinness and the English Queen”.
“Prince Charles is the Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment,” said Adams.
A regiment of the British Army that has been responsible for killing of many Irish citizens.
But he also has been bereaved by the actions of republicans.
Charles’ grand-uncle Lord Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb in 1979.
“Thankfully the conflict is over. But there remains unresolved injustices. These must be rectified and a healing process developed,” said Adams.
There is a responsibility on us all to promote reconciliation and seek to promote healing.
It is with that in mind that the Ard Chomhairle decided that Sinn Féin representatives will attend a number of events during this visit.
Additional reporting by Nicky Ryan and Sinéad O’Carroll
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One can only hope the banks recent advertising blitz on every single app imaginable is a positive sign. Would be a real shame if it closes and vomit enducing if that shower of S$!tes PTSB got there hands on it.
They are still filling new positions as of now pointing to a desire to remain.
The last thing this country needs is LESS competition in the banking sector!
We should be encouraging every euro-zone bank to set up operations in Ireland.
KBC was also bailed out in Belgium..
hope they f@ck off and bring my mortgage with them.
You want them to go leaving less banks and less competition so the others can increase fees
@the truth:
They had no problems causing anxiety and worry to tracker mortgage holders who they moved off their trackers and took seven years to admit it.
It not nice to see anybody worried, but they showed no empathy for their customers who they were diddling out of their trackers and then refused to engage with.
I’m finishing it hard to have too much sympathy for KBC .
Me too the truth. I’ll say a prayer :-)
I went from a fixed rate to a tracker Joan & KBC never tried to take it off me. They have been very helpful to me. Obviously it helps that i’m not in negative equity.
if they take my mortgage with them I don’t give a bollix what they leave darren
Amen trisha
@Trisha Tully: that’s good for you. I’m glad.
it doesn’t make the case I’m speaking of any less true.
KBC acted appallingly to the clients and caused considerable anxiety and failed time and again to engage with them, despite having been directed to by the central bank.
They eventually were forced to apologise .
Is it possible to bank in Ireland without state subsidies. AIB have been bailed out twice in 30 years how can other banks compete when they now the two big Irish banks will get a bail out when ever they get in trouble.
Not all banks were bailed. KBC wasn’t.
@Joe
Parent company KBC were bailed out twice in last 8 years, €3.5 billion by the Federal government in 2008 and a further €3.5 billion by the Flemish government in 2009.
KBC Ireland in turn have twice being bailed out by their Belgian parent and is due to start paying a dividend back to the parent in 2017.
KBC Ireland have been bailed out twice from KBC in Belgium via some of the funds from the 2 bailouts given to KBC by Belgium and Flemish governments in 2007 and 2009
They were in just a big a mess as Irush banks.
KBC bank Ireland were bailed out Google it.
NOT BY THE IRISH TAX PAYER. It was funded to set up retail by Belgium.
You are presenting Kellyanne Conway ‘alternative facts’ there, KBC Ireland were bailed out due to the accumulation of losses and write offs on its mortgage books
Kbc is a bond holder. We bailed them out
@Rebecca De Stanleigh: KBC Ireland were bailed out they were bailed out by the Belgian Government and that is 100% fact
@Brendan Crowe: I see your point and you are correct but also the belgian government bailed the irish branch of KBC
That’s already been sorted, in future it’ll be a ‘bail-in’ that saves the bank. Deposits will be hit.
Metro bank in the U.K. And Toronto Dominion in the U.S have done well to penetrate the retail banking markets against large legacy banks…
To succeed they need to be faster to respond to market demands, have a plan to profitability, decent leadership, appeal to young professionals, be more service orientated, more innovative, sell more ancillary products and services, take advantage of technology to provide better services at less cost.
Unfortunately the recent entrants into the Irish market seem to believe they can beat the legacies by offering the exact same products and services for less margins and overspending on advertising.
Neither appealing heavily to students with promotions, taking a loss on services sold to them and relying on a legacy of deposits from high wealth baby boomers will yield success for a new market entrant.
Wow Drew.. what bank do you run with such enlightening thiughts?..
Drew.
KBC are in Ireland since 1978, hardly a new entrant
Yet only entered the Irish retail/consumer banking market in 2012…
Cormac. You article is full of rubbish.
Get your facts right Rebecca !!!!
My facts are right. Thanks though
The bubble is about to burst again.
If state/public keep bailing banks out it begs the question of why they are not in public ownership full time and their profits used for the public good.
If a bank has 600 million net profit in Q4, who gets that money?
We should not be bailing out banks, we should be purchasing shares.
While it’s no guarantee, currently analysts (Deutsche Bank) suggest they will be staying. The bank is profitable, the recently expanded credit connections between the parent and subsidiary would make a split difficult, and while they can’t comment on the future of operations here till 9th February, they did say that (group-wide) there were no pending mergers or acquisitions.
Deutsche itself exited 10 countries recently… Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay Denmark, Finland, Norway, Malta and New Zealand. HSBC and Barclays performed similar pull backs.
Profitability is no assurance of a bank remaining in a foreign market, especially in retail banking.
KBC should be nationalised. If you need to ask why, then you obviously do not understand how the economy works. Solidarity with the workers trying to obtain a greater share in the wealth which they create.
@Benjy ..please explain how the Irish government nationalises a Belgium owned bank with a branch’s here ?
Bye bye
I have been warning about the terrible poverty facing Irish neighbors. The figures simply don’t add up. Take subsidies out of farming and the whole thing collapses. We will soon have the highest electricity prices in the world and carbon taxes on burning fuel. Jobs will go , poverty is the result. I makes me cringe
#kbc
I hope my husband isn’t reading this today…who knows what i might say!
#BANKOFME
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