Moate's ATM woes continue

During recent weekends, Moate’s business community suffered an ATM blackout as the town’s only remaining high-street cash machine went out of service. 

The removal last month of the ATM at the former AIB Bank branch on Main Street meant the town was being served only by an on-street Bank of Ireland ATM and an in-store cash machine at SuperValu.

What was described as “the nightmare scenario” for local businesses took place over recent weekends, when the Bank of Ireland machine stopped functioning and people who needed to take money out at night had no options available to them.

Local councillor John Dolan said he had been “inundated with phonecalls” on the matter.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, he said he had been in contact with a Bank of Ireland staff member who had told him that their existing ATM in Moate would be replaced with a new machine today (Wednesday).

Cllr Dolan said the current machine had been the subject of vandalism and this was a factor in it going out of service.

“I’ve been told that a new machine will be going in and that it will be well-stocked with cash,” he said.

“But I think having just one machine on the Main Street of Moate is not an acceptable situation and I would reiterate my call to AIB to reinstate the machine that they took out of their former branch recenty,” said the Fine Gael representative.