Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On the speaking order, I am reminded of a call I made previously for the abolition of the second group of Independents in this House. It is an issue which I intend to raise on the Order of Business. It makes a laughing stock of the Seanad that we have two separate groups of Independents and when one of them does not turn up the speaking arrangements for the day are upset.

I wish to raise a number of issues, the first of which is that of card and merchant acquiring services for small and medium sized enterprises. I had lunch yesterday in Navan. When I tried to pay for it with my Visa debit card, which is a convenient mechanism, the shopkeeper was unable to accept it but happily agreed to waiting for payment until after I had eaten my lunch and obtained money from the ATM. The man concerned told me he cannot afford to have the required machine in his premises. The same applies to other small businesses such as dry cleaners, barber shops and so on that do not have high turnover in terms of sales. Pharmacies often have them because there is a high cash value on purchases therein. This issue is causing huge problems for small businesses. It will become an even greater problem with the introduction of swipe cards - my wife has one and has used it already - which do not require people when paying in certain outlets for goods costing less than ¤15 to enter a pin number. While the availability of this service as a matter of practice in, say, Tesco or some of the multiples will be extremely convenient, the increasing move to a cashless society will be inconvenient for small businesses.

If the Government cannot force the banks to lend to small businesses it will have to put in place some arrangement at little or no cost to enable small shops to carry out commerce. Small shops cannot do business if people do not use cash. People are using cards more and will soon be using their iPhones to make purchases. If we do not come up with a system which addresses this issue, people will avoid small shops and go to the multiples where they can use their cards, which is much more convenient for them. I suspect this is already happening. One can purchase a coffee in Navan, Slane or Kells with cash or one can go to Supermacs and purchase one using one's Visa card, which is more convenient. Supermacs has the power in the marketplace to offer this service, in respect of which I believe the charges, in terms of commission, are exorbitant. The delay in payment from banks or merchant acquirers to the shops would also be an issue for small shops, as they could not afford to wait for the money to come through. There is a need for serious action in this regard. People will of necessity avoid the shops which do not provide this service, resulting in their closure. Whomever tackles this issue will be the hero of the many small businesses on whom we depend, including dry cleaners, barber shops, coffee shops, sandwich bars, hairdressers and pubs in rural Ireland. It is increasingly the case, when one tries to pay for drinks in a pub where one may be attending a meeting and has no cash to do so, that they do not accept payment by debit card. This is particularly true in respect of pubs located outside towns. They, too, will be at a disadvantage because this new service is too expensive for them to offer. Addressing this issue will be a plus for small businesses.