Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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231. To ask the Minister for Finance for an update on the national payments strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41570/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In June 2023, the terms of reference for a National Payments Strategy (NPS) were published, and work on the NPS has commenced, taking account of the changing payment landscape and ongoing legislative developments at EU level, including proposals on instant payments, payment services, legal tender and the digital euro. Access to cash and acceptance of cash is also being examined as part of this work.

The Department sought views from across Irish society though a public consultation. A Consultation Paper on the NPS was prepared to guide the discussion and is available on the Department’s website,? .?The Consultation Paper has three main areas of focus:

• Payments roadmap

• Acceptance of cash

• Access to cash [the development of the access to cash legislation is a separate work stream]

The consultation process closed on 14 February 2024 and the responses to the public consultation will form an important part of the NPS. A summary of the submissions was published on the Department’s website and can be found here: .

Subsequently, the NPS team conducted a stakeholder workshop where various stakeholders could meet and discuss the various proposed recommendations. Following this the NPS was drafted containing the considered recommendations and action points. The NPS is due to be launched and published on the afternoon of 15th October 2024, once approved at the Government Cabinet meeting that morning.