Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The only thing we should mention is the issue of road safety, given the higher number of fatalities on the roads last year, when there were record numbers, and the number we have had already this year.

No. 00045/23, entitled "Accept our Cash", is from Mr. Peter O'Donoghue. According to Mr. O'Donoghue:

Today, more and more businesses and organisations in Ireland are implementing a policy of card and contactless payments only for financial transactions. This policy cannot be accepted in Ireland, as it is a discriminatory policy which discriminates against many various cohorts and sections of people in our society, who when it comes to paying for a service or product don’t use contactless payment methods but use cash instead. The people discriminated due to this policy include many of our elderly, homeless, intellectually disabled, recent immigrants, and people in general who might not have a bank account, credit card or smartphone for their own personal and private reasons. Whilst card and contactless payment systems have many benefits for both businesses and customers and should continue being used, cash must always be accepted as legal tender as well in this country. A payment policy that enacts discrimination of any group or individual in our society cannot be tolerated.

The recommendation is that the correspondence from the petitioner be forwarded to the Department of Finance for comment within 14 days and also to the Central Bank of Ireland, again for comment within 14 days. Am I mistaken or did the Government or the Minister try to bring something in on cash payments to the effect that they must be continued?