Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

83. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will outline plans to address regulation of independent operators of ATMs, given that 75% of ATMs in Ireland are now owned by organisations that are not banks, are not regulated as regards service standards or fees and charges and for whom the Central Bank's conduct of business rules do not apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21313/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I would like to thank the Deputy for her question which provides me with an opportunity to update on the progress being made by my Department in relation to the regulation of Independent ATM Deployers (IADs).

Firstly I want to provide some clarity on the statement that 75% of ATMs in Ireland are now owned by organisations that are not banks.

IADs currently control approximately 75% of ATM locations throughout Ireland. Bank branches, for example are considered a single location, however a bank branch may contain more than one ATM. If all retail bank ATMs were counted alongside all IAD-owned ATMs, recent data suggests overall IAD ownership of the ATM network may be in the region of 60%.

As Deputy Hourigan will be aware, in 2021 my predecessor as Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe T.D., instructed the Department to undertake a broad-ranging review of the retail banking sector.

The Review 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.

As well as this, the Review recommended that the Department 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. Finally, it recommended that the Department develop Access to Cash legislation and prepare heads of a bill in 2023.

I want to assure the Deputy that work is well underway by officials in my Department on this recommendation. It is intended that one piece of legislation will be drafted for all three recommendations on access to cash, including the aspects on IADs.

My officials are already working on Heads of Bill for this important piece of legislation and will bring the Heads to Government before the end of this year to seek approval to draft the Bill and to submit it for pre-legislative scrutiny to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Taoiseach.

In particular, in relation to IADs, the Department is closely working with the Central Bank of Ireland and the relevant industry players to determine the most appropriate means of authorising and supervising ATM operators. This will be a key element of the Access to Cash legislation.

Finally, the Deputy should be aware that while these developments are occurring at national level, there are also relevant developments underway at EU level. The European Commission is currently reviewing the revised Payment Services Directive, PSD2.

This review is expected to be published in June 2023. One aspect to be considered under the review is scope. At present, IADs are not included within the scope of PSD2. However, it is possible that this will be changed under future proposals for a PSD3. Officials in my Department will continue to monitor developments in this area.