Mr. Gavin Kelly:

I agree with the Senator. We see significant reductions in their use. I do not have the exact figures but I will forward them on. Reduction in use has been in the double digit percentages year on year. We still have cheques in the Irish economy and they are still lodged into our machines and across the counter every day. It is still a challenge, as indeed is cash. Despite all the moves towards contactless technology and the increase in card transactions, cash usage in the economy is still high. It is one of the aspects we need to keep looking at to see if we can lower the use. We have started to see it reduce slightly but we have more to go.