Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 27 February 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

General Scheme of the Access to Cash Bill 2024: Discussion

Mr. John Palmer:

Exactly. We basically see that as a huge problem, in particular in terms of financial inclusion because if somebody can only afford to take out €20 and they are being charged even €2 for that it is obviously a very inequitable situation. We are talking about domestic cards in the current situation. We think the status quo is fair enough but we have to cater for the fact that we cannot control what Visa and Mastercard decide to do in the future. If they change their rules then IADs may well be in a position to introduce fees and we think it is important that the Minister then has the ability to intervene if necessary.