Tiger kidnap threat may see banks restrict staff access to cash

Banks are to look into tightening rules on staff access to large sums of cash to further combat tiger-kidnap plots, it was revealed tonight.

After four similar traumatic raids this year, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern raised concerns about the quantities of money stored in vulnerable branches.

“Banks are going to have to look at situations where their own officials are not put into circumstances where there is available cash and therefore put under duress,” he said.

“That they will have certain procedures and indeed technology to ensure that the issue of large amounts of cash are not available to a lower level of bank manager, as has happened in recent times.”

Mr Ahern and Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy met Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher in Dublin after the latest tiger-kidnap raid involving one of the lender’s employees, former Kilkenny star Adrian Ronan.

The minister also stressed the need for bank workers to follow protocols including alerting gardaí as soon as possible.

He admitted this has not always been adhered to.

“In relation to those staff not directly involved in incidents, there has to be an onus on those people to notify (gardaí) immediately and as dispassionately as possible without in any way compromising the particular family involved,” Mr Ahern said.

Finance union, the Irish Bank Officials’ Association, which has talks on security and safety worries lined up with Mr Ahern next week, urged banks to carry out a full review of their rules.

“There are no simple solutions,” an IBOA spokesman said.

“We are looking at a combination of measures but one of the things we will be suggesting to the minister, and have been suggesting to the banks is that they need to rethink what they are doing.

“And is it absolutely necessary to have large amounts of cash in perhaps more vulnerable parts of the banking system?”

Mr Boucher said he was concerned about the safety of staff but refused to be drawn on tactics to combat tiger-kidnap raids.

Mr Ahern will also meet officials from the Irish Banking Federation and credit unions next week.