Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The final point I want to raise with the Central Bank witnesses is the issue of the rights of cash customers. It was mentioned earlier that when people walk into banks they are faced with automated machines. I am aware of a situation in which somebody walked into the bank and used one of these machines but did not get a receipt for the money lodged, and nor could they get the money back out of the machine. They went in to make a lodgement but it took about half an hour to get a member of staff to deal with it, and another to get the money out of the machine. The person runs a small business around the corner from the bank and is what is referred to as a sole trader, which meant the business was closed for an hour and a half while the bank staff fiddled around with the machine. I highlight that, because we must cater for cash customers.

The advent of plastic cards was a means of enslavement. They are handy, but they are a means of enslavement. One effect of their introduction is that the value of money has been lost. When I started working, and for a long time after that, I was paid in cash. I am not advocating that we go back to paying people in cash but one had X amount of money in one's pocket. One knew how much one needed for the rest of the week and how much to put away for car insurance, a house loan or whatever. We all know the problem with plastic cards. People were borrowing on one against another, and it has turned out to be a means of enslavement. There are customers, particularly elderly people, who want to continue using cash. I believe strongly that their right to trade and have a service through cash should be upheld.

One of my concerns is that elderly people have told me they are reluctant to go into the bank because if they cannot operate the machines, they will leave. We have seen instances in which money is kept in biscuit tins and under mattresses, and horrific circumstances in which elderly people have been robbed, tied up and assaulted.