The Government has published a Bill which aims to ensure that sufficient and effective access to cash is available across the country.
The Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 was approved by Cabinet last week.
Speaking following the publication of the Bill, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers said cash continues to play an important role in our economy.
"Cash is important to consumers in all walks of life because it is a private, secure, and instant form of payment," he said.
"It is a budgeting tool for many, and it allows individuals to maintain their financial independence.
"It is also important for the day-to-day revenue and expenses of so many of our small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs)," he added.
The Bill stems from a recommendation made by the Retail Banking Review, published in November 2022.
It highlighted the continuing importance of cash in ensuring people don't experience financial exclusion and in allowing consumers to budget efficiently.
It also said that cash is needed as a safety net in the event of electronic banking, or the payments infrastructure being impacted by outages or cyber-attacks.
The review called on Department officials 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.
The Bill published today incorporates both of these elements in one piece of legislation.
It states that access to cash will be maintained, initially, at around December 2022 levels.
It also places a number of obligations on the three main retail banks.
For example, it states that a specified percentage of the population must be within no less than 5km and no more than 10km of an ATM, and a cash service point - either a bank branch or post office.
It also states that there must be a specified number of ATMs per 100,000 people.
The Bill allows the Minister for Finance, following consultation with the Central Bank of Ireland, to make regulations that prohibit or cap the maximum access fee that can be charged if access fees are introduced in the future because they become a barrier to cash access and decrease financial inclusion.
The Department of Finance said reviews of the access to cash criteria will be carried out following the publication of final Census population data, if cash demand drops by 15% in a calendar year compared to the previous year, or at the request of the Minister for Finance.
A review may also be carried out on the Central Bank's own initiative.
Reacting to the publication of the Bill, Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said the banking industry is fully committed to playing its part in ensuring reasonable access to cash, both now and in the future, in accordance with consumer demand.
"This is clearly demonstrated through continued investment in the provision of cash services including branches and ATMs as well as extensive engagement with all relevant stakeholders since Access to Cash legislation was first proposed," BPFI said in a statement.
"During this engagement, the BPFI and the three retail banks (AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB) highlighted concerns in relation to the need for shared responsibility in the provision of cash requirements across all significant current and prospective players in this market (including digital banks, fintechs and payment service providers); as well as the potential risks of Irish legislation moving ahead of the emerging proposals in forthcoming EU legislation," it added.
BPFI said it will review the bill in detail, along with its members.
"As the legislative process moves forward, we will continue to advocate for a framework that is proportionate and ensures a level playing field for all providers of banking services in Ireland and welcome the opportunity to continue to engage with the Minister and all relevant stakeholders on this important matter in the months ahead," it said.
