Bank of Ireland to defer job cuts

Bank of Ireland has said it won't implement a cost cutting plan until it has finished negotiations with staff representatives.

The plan includes 2,100 redundancies and the closure of ten branches.

Bank management met with representatives of the Irish Banking Officials Association in Dublin this evening.

IBOA General Secretary Larry Broderick said the meeting had been positive and welcomed the bank's commitment to negotiate.

The two sides have agreed to call on Kieran Mulvey, CEO of the Labour Relations Commission, to act as a mediator.