Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 180: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will use his discretion when transposing the Payment Services Directive to prohibit charges by retailers for the use of payment instruments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33307/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I refer to the answer to Question No. 55 of 22 May 2008.

Article 52(3) of the Directive prohibits payment service providers from preventing merchants applying a surcharge or offering a reduction for the use of a given payment instrument. This is to ensure that the costs of efficient and inefficient payment instruments are transparent. Otherwise, all consumers would bear the costs of inefficient payment instruments as merchants would pass on charges in the form of a generally higher price level. This Article does allow Member States to forbid or limit the right to request charges. However, this can only be done if two conditions are satisfied, namely, that such a measure is consistent with the need to encourage competition and promote use of efficient payment instruments.

Following its earlier consultation on options for transposing the Directive, my Department has recently concluded a second consultation on the text of the draft transposing regulations. My Department is considering whether to avail of the discretion in Article 52(3) having regard to submissions received.