Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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83. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans, and the timelines involved, to publish legislation securing access to cash; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3742/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In recent years, the banking landscape has changed significantly in Ireland. The number of banks serving the sector reduced from 12 to 3 as banks were amalgamated or closed down and foreign owned entrants exited the Irish retail market. We have also seen a considerable acceleration in technological developments and the pace of uptake has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. With that has come a decline in cash usage. Since 2015 the number of ATM transactions declined by 46%. Card payments accounted for 62.4% of the total number of payment transactions in 2021.

Despite this decline, cash remains an important element of the payments system and the broader economy. I acknowledge its importance to certain sectors of the economy such as SMEs, as well as to older individuals or those who wish to use it as a means of controlling their finances.

In light of this changing landscape, in 2021 my predecessor as Minister for Finance instructed this Department to undertake a broad-ranging review of the retail banking sector.

The Retail Banking Review, published in November 2022, contained a number of recommendations. One recommendation was for the Department of Finance to develop Access to Cash legislation and prepare heads of a bill in 2023.

The Review also called on Department officials to prepare heads of a bill in 2023 to require ATM operators to be authorised and supervised by the Central Bank and to provide the Central Bank with responsibility and powers to protect the resilience of the cash system including the authorisation and supervision of cash-in-transit firms in respect of their cash handling activities and related financial services.

This work is now underway by officials in my Department and it is expected that heads of a bill will be drafted by end 2023 as set out in the Retail Banking Review recommendations.