Mr. Brian Hayes:

If one looks at in-store transactions and contactless payments, 85% of all in-store transactions are now done by means of card or contactless payments. We know that over a four-year period, the total number of ATM transactions went from €20 billion to €13 billion. I want to be very clear: we are not saying that we do not believe there is a role for cash. Cash is here to stay. It is around how, through the infrastructure, we and others make sure we provide that service to people.

The Deputy asked about the issue of competition. We used to have 12 retail banks in this country, then we had nine, then we had seven and then we had five. We now have three retail banks. In the course of the past 24 months, the only surviving international retail banks decided to leave. The issue the Deputy raised in the context of competition is critical. I respectfully suggest to the committee that this is a broader issue of competition policy. I would love to see the competition authority give its view on the general scheme and whether it fits competition policy that three banks – they are the biggest banks in the country and they are the pillar banks - are being asked to provide this infrastructure to the exclusion of everyone else as we go forward. From a competition perspective for existing players or, indeed, for banks considering entering the market here, the question that arises is whether there is a level playing field.

The Deputy was right to raise the point about competition. The logical agency to ask that view of - I am sure it would be more than happy to give the Deputy a view - is the competition authority. There is a distinct issue of competition when three banks, even though they only represent one third of the existing infrastructure, are being asked to meet every deficiency. Given the Deputy's remark about competition, that is a very important point.