Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill and commend the efforts being made to ensure people throughout the country can continue to access physical cash. People choose to use cash for a variety of reasons and we must respect that. For some, especially older people, cash is what they know and trust. For those with irregular incomes, cash provides a tangible way to manage budgets. For victims of domestic violence, having access to and control over cash can be a crucial lifeline to autonomy and safety.

I seek clarity on a number of points in the Bill. In Part 2, section 6 provides for a review by the Minister of the access to cash criteria if cash demand decreases by more than 15% in one calendar year compared with the previous year. After such a review, the Minister may amend the criteria. Is it the case that continuing reviews could mean the Minister makes an order in years to come that the baseline for cash services is set at 2025 rather than 2022, for example, and that, in such an eventuality, there will not be genuine protection of access to cash as this could, in all probability, decrease the number of ATMs based on declining cash usage?

While protecting access to cash is vital, we must also urgently consider the ability to spend it. There is little point in protecting people's ability to withdraw cash from an ATM if when they go to buy groceries or attempt to make appointments, they are told the service is card only. More and more businesses, particularly in urban areas, are moving to cashless models. We have already seen attempts to digitise public bodies and services such as the national car test, NCT. That move rightly met with public resistance and served as a warning that we cannot allow convenience to trump inclusivity. We need an educational programme to operate in conjunction with this Bill. People need to be aware of the legislation to ensure the criteria are being met in their own locality. There is not much point in drafting it if the wider public has no knowledge of how it will expand their right to access to cash.