Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I am delighted to hear that a team is in place to examine this matter more closely.

The retail banking review pointed out that, primarily due to technological developments, the main way that consumers and SMEs engaged with and accessed banking services had changed rapidly in recent years. Covid accelerated this trend. While the use of cash and visits to bank branches have been in decline in Ireland and elsewhere for some time, the review team noted that the ECB survey found that a majority of people wanted to have the option to pay in cash – this is the important point – even if some had a preference for digital payments. We cannot ignore the consternation around the country when AIB suggested that it might only have machines in its banks, which would have had a detrimental impact on businesses. Rural Ireland would decline further if banks were allowed to do this, which is why I feel so strongly about ensuring that cash always remain legal tender for people.

See this speech in context