Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will return to two separate issues before inviting Deputy Donnelly to speak. I refer to charging and the general operation of banks. In France, if one offers a €50 note at the local cafe or grocery shop, people look at you as if you have two heads. ATMs, or drink links as they are called, issue denominations of €5 or €10 whereas the standard procedure here seems to be €50 or €20. Is there not a strong argument that we need to examine the possibility of having money released in particular denominations? It is a particular problem for people on low incomes and those in receipt of social welfare payments. If one has €19.99, the money is unavailable through the ATM system. It is a significant amount of money for someone in receipt of social welfare. Payment may not come through until the Thursday and after 6 p.m. on Wednesday the person cannot get access to €20, which amounts to one tenth of the social welfare payment. Has consideration been given to this issue by the Central Bank? What response has the Central Bank received from the banks?