Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

90. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide an outline of the Central Bank of Ireland's new national payments plan; if he intends to abandon one cent and two cent coins; if he has identified a town where the pilot scheme is not carrying such coins; if he intends to put roundings to the nearest five cent on a statutory footing; if he has examined similar scheme in other jurisdiction that have worked; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20676/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In 2011, I requested that the Central Bank examine ways to improve Ireland's payment infrastructure. The Central Bank established a Steering Committee which prepared and submitted the National Payments Plan to me. Government subsequently approved the plan in April 2013. A copy has been sent to all TDs and Senators and is available online at . The National Payments Plan will target improving consumer payments systems, modernising business payments, promoting electronic payment methods, reducing costly cheque usage, increasing the efficiency of the use of cash and ensuring that Ireland meets its commitments under the Single European Payments Area Regulation. The National Payments Plan outlines that if Ireland were to match best practice in Europe, savings of up to €1 billion per annum could be made to the economy. This would result in better value for the customer, lower back-office administration cost for Government, lower administration cost for business and lower operating costs for financial institutions.

On the specific query that the Deputy has raised, the National Payments Plan has made a recommendation that issues surrounding the use of one and two cent coins in Ireland will be investigated. The National Payments Plan does not envisage that one and two cent coins would be abandoned; they would remain legal tender.

The Steering Committee intends to trial the use of a rounding convention in a pilot project. The location for the pilot project has not yet been identified. The rounding convention that will be trialled in the pilot is entirely voluntary on the part of both consumers and retailers. A change in the legal tender status of these coins requires action at EU level. Consideration of this issue is currently ongoing at EU level but discussions have not yet concluded. Any action to roll out nationally will be done fully in consultation with our EU partners.

In developing the National Payments Plan, the Steering Committee examined other jurisdictions in the EU and also outside the EU. The pilot project will be developed along the lines of the approach adopted in The Netherlands, which has substantially reduced the use of one and two cent coins. This involves retailers and customers voluntarily agreeing to a rounding convention, which avoids the use of one and two cent coins without banning their use. A decision on whether or not to roll this out nationally would be taken by Government only following completion of the pilot.