Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I knew the Leas-Chathaoirleach would be here because he has been giving out so much over the past couple of years about the Oireachtas ATM being removed. That and the lotto have been his campaigns.

I welcome the officials for its pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme, which came about as a result of the banking review. I have a couple of questions on the general scheme. I am glad that we are dealing with it, particularly as a number of other jurisdictions have already legislated in respect of access to cash.

The details of what communities, individuals and businesses will be able to depend on in the future is missing from the legislation. That will be determined by regulation at a later stage. In the main, this is about enabling legislation, but perhaps we will delve into that to get an understanding of where the Department's thinking is and what the regulations would look like. As for the key criteria of a prescribed percentage of the population being within 10 km of an ATM where cash can be withdrawn and the number of ATMs per 100,000 people, Ireland already has a penetration of 99% of the population within 10 km of an ATM. Ireland also has 81 ATMs per 100,000 people. We are behind the curve on some of this; in the North for example, provisions are already being introduced and I am sure members and witnesses are aware of what the FCA is doing in this regard. In the North, and in Britain, 95% of the population has free access to cash deposits and withdrawal facilities within one mile of where they live in urban areas and within three miles of where they live in rural areas. Is there similar data for this State? That is my first question.