Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)

I thank Senators for their warm welcome. I was in the House yesterday and am here again today so I hope it will be my last time today to come in. I am covering for the Department of Finance. I thank the Senators for their constructive engagement and support of this important legislation. As I set out in my opening remarks, the purpose of this Bill is to put in place a framework in order that the future evolution of the cash infrastructure will be managed in a fair, orderly, transparent and equitable manner and to require ATM operators and cash-in-transit providers, CITs, to be authorised and supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland. This will ultimately ensure that significant and effective access to cash will be available in the State in the future.

Cash is important to people in all walks of life and it is also a necessity in different contexts such as cyberattacks, payment network issues, power outages and extreme weather events. We saw recently in Ireland with Storm Éowyn, particularly in the west of Ireland, where we were out of power for nearly a week in some cases and where there was no access to cash in some places. People could not use card machines so it was important that people had cash. People helped one another out and that is an important issue. We also saw the recent power outages in Spain. It is important people have a small amount of cash. I am not telling people to have huge amounts of cash in their houses but it is important we have access to cash, particularly when it comes to situations such as that. Other kinds of uncertainty demonstrate the need for a consistent and reliable way to make a payment. This Bill will help to ensure cash is available both when people want it and when they need it.

The framework the Bill will put in place has a number of important features in this regard including a mechanism to address local deficiencies countrywide, information gathering and sharing between relevant bodies, and the setting of service standards for ATMs. To elaborate, where a person considers there may be a local deficiency in their area, he or she may notify the Central Bank of Ireland. The Central Bank will develop a process for assessing these notifications and addressing the deficiencies, taking account of the factors set out in the Bill. The Central Bank will also monitor and publish information relating to the cash infrastructure. The Bill also provides for the sharing of information between the Central Bank and the Private Security Authority, PSA, ensuring a clear overview of the cash system.

The Central Bank will make regulations requiring ATM operators to notify it of proposed changes to their businesses or to notify it of closures of any ATM in circumstances beyond their control. Requirements for ATM operators to ensure appropriate service standards will also be set in regulations. These service standards will include hours of availability, maximum withdrawal limits, stocking of different denominations and signage and communication requirements. The combination of access to the cash criteria, the local deficiency framework, service standards and regulatory reporting will provide certainty for members of the public regarding the availability and accessibility of cash across the country. No doubt, this is a certainty that many will welcome.

In drafting this legislation, the Department of Finance sought legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General at all stages of the process. The Office of the Attorney General assessed, among other matters, whether the proposed legislation met the principles of proportionality, objectivity and being in the interest of the common good. The assessment considered whether the legislation is suitable to achieve the desired end, necessary to achieve the desired end and does not impose a burden on the individual that is excessive in relation to the objective. The opinion of the Office of the Attorney General was that the objectives of the legislation were consistent with the Constitution with regard to the common good. The legislation has been carefully drafted to avoid imposing an excessive burden on those concerned while still achieving its goals. The Bill was also drafted in such a manner that the process of identifying the designated entities as fair and transparent and there is scope for review in the event of a change to the Irish banking market. The access to cash criteria will be reviewed by the Central Bank following updated census figures, if cash demand drops by 15% year on year or if the Minister for Finance requests a review. The Central Bank may also conduct a review on its own initiative at any time. These reviews will ensure the criteria can be adjusted in response to changes in the demand for cash in the State and that the access to cash framework will continue to provide sufficient and effective access to cash in the future. Ireland is not alone in introducing legislation of this nature. A collaborative access to cash solution from industry is the norm in several countries. For example, LINK is a nationwide cash machine network in the UK. Geldmaat is a similar entity in the Netherlands and Bankomat is jointly owned by the five largest banks in Sweden. Similarly, in late 2023, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission granted interim authorisation to the Australian Banking Association, its member banks and other relevant industrial participants to develop arrangements for maintaining the physical distribution of cash throughout Australia.

This legislation also dovetails with progress at European level. The European Commission shared a proposal for a regulation on legal tender in June 2023 to address access to and acceptance of cash across EU member states. The proposal places an obligation on member states to ensure sufficient and effective access to cash, to monitor and evaluate access to cash and to report to both the European Commission and the European Central Bank. This Bill aligns with the EU legal tender proposal and achieves its goal of ensuring cash is acceptable.

The EU proposal also sets similar requirements with regard to cash acceptance. Ireland has contributed to the discussions on the EU legal tender proposal at Council working party meetings since its publication. I anticipate the discussions will result in sufficient progress by the end of the Polish Presidency in June 2025.

In respect of the acceptance of cash, the national payments strategy, published in October 2024, set out a roadmap for the future evolution of the entire payments system. The strategy took account of developments in digital payments, the use of cheques and other issues and to guide how future changes should be made to the entire payments system. Future outcome 3.1 of the strategy set out that all Departments and bodies under their aegis will accept electronic and cash payments, or facilitate cash payments. In November 2024, the Secretary General of the Department of Finance wrote to all other Secretaries General notifying them of this recommendation. Future outcome 3.3 sets out that there will be a comprehensive overview of the national cash cycle environment that will inform policy thinking and formation in relation to cash and payments.

In conclusion, people prefer or rely on cash for a variety of reasons. Budgeting, privacy and security are still key benefits of cash despite trends towards electronic payments. ATMs still dominate how consumers access cash, with three out of four people, 74%, using ATMs most often for withdrawals. Older people have reported feeling a push towards online banking despite a preference for cash. The Department of Finance’s consumer sentiment banking survey, published in September 2024, found that in-person branch visits are the preferred preference among those aged 65 years or older, who are also more likely to spend a higher proportion each week using cash. The same survey also found that almost one in four people prefer cash as a payment method, a figure which rises to 50% of those aged 65 years or older. Age is not the only factor, however. Research published by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK last year found that digital exclusion and income levels have the largest effect on how likely someone is to rely on cash.

This Bill ensures that cash remains a sustainable and accessible option for Irish society as a whole and, in doing so, it protects people’s ability to participate in society. This is why I am pleased to present this legislation today. It will ensure that those who rely on cash can continue to do so. It will also establish a framework to ensure that cash infrastructure in Ireland can respond to changing demand in the future. I thank the House and its Senators for their contribution to this debate. This legislation was an important objective and I look forward to further discussion. I once again thank the Senators for their support. I also thank the officials for the tremendous work they have done in putting this Bill together.