Minister Chambers undertakes Second Stage of the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) 2024 Bill in Dáil Éireann

The Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers T.D., is pleased to announce the completion of Second Stage of the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 today in Dáil Éireann.

This follows publication of the Bill on 31 July 2024.

The Bill aims to put in place a framework that will ensure sufficient and effective access to cash is available in the State, and that any further evolution of the cash infrastructure will be managed in a fair, orderly, transparent and equitable manner for all stakeholders.

Minister Chambers commented:

"I am delighted to present the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 to the Dáil today following its publication in July.

For many people, cash remains the preferred form of payment and 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. 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).

It is imperative to ensure that cash remains widely available and accessible, so as to protect the economy when technology is not a viable option, and ensure that those who rely on cash can do so into the future. That is why the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 aims to put in place a framework to ensure continued sufficient and effective access to cash in the State.

I look forward to engaging with colleagues across the House and will welcome their support as the Bill progresses through the Oireachtas."

Notes for Editors

• The Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 was published in July 2024 and is available online at https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2024/65/ .
• The Bill provides that the Minister for Finance shall prescribe criteria in respect of each of the eight NUTS3 regions in the State to require that: that a specified percentage of the population must be within no less than 5km and no more than 10km of an ATM; that there be a specified number of ATMs per 100,000 people; and a specified percentage of the population must be within no less than 5km and no more than 10km of a cash service point - either a bank branch or a post office.
• NUTS3 regions are those set out under the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics classification, relied on by the European statistical agency Eurostat. The NUTS3 regions in Ireland are set out in the supplementary material.
• The initial access to cash criteria will be based on December 2022 levels. These levels, by NUTS3 region, can also be found in the supplementary material below.
• The Bill will require designated entities, whose share of current accounts and household deposits exceed percentages prescribed by the Minister for Finance, to be responsible for maintaining access to cash levels. The designated entities, will, initially, be the three main retail banks.
• The Central Bank will be responsible for the monitoring and enforcement of the legislation and will have the necessary powers to ensure compliance with the access to cash criteria.
• The Bill also provides for the remedying of local deficiencies. These are locations within a NUTS3 region where particular difficulties arise in accessing cash. The Central Bank will assess such cases and, where warranted, may require designated entities to address the issue. The Central Bank will prepare and publish guidance on local deficiencies prior to implementation of the framework.
• To ensure that the obligations being placed on the designated entities remain objective and proportionate, the legislation provides that the access to cash criteria can be amended by the Minister following a review of the criteria by the Central Bank. Reviews will have to be carried out following the publication of final Census data, if cash demand drops by 15% in a calendar year compared to the previous year, or at the request of the Minister. Reviews may also be carried out on the Central Bank's own initiative.
• The Bill also brings ATM deployers and cash-in-transit providers within the regulatory perimeter of the Central Bank of Ireland. Under this legislation, ATM deployers and cash-in-transit providers will be required to register with the Central Bank, and the legislation will give the Central Bank the power to make regulations to prescribe requirements for all ATM operators in relation to reporting and service standards. This includes hours of operation, withdrawal limits, banknote denomination stocking, outages, maximum downtime periods, and signage and communication requirements.

Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024

Supplementary Information

September 2024

Geographical Dispersion of Total ATMs - December 2022

(Not Including Limited ATMs*)

• These are 43 ATMs in locations such as sports stadia or concert venues, which are only open for events.

Geographical Dispersion of Cash Service Points - December 2022

(Bank & An Post Branches with over-the-counter services)

**Cash Service Points are defined as locations where cash can be deposited and withdrawn where in person assistance is available during normal business hours. Their purpose is primarily to cover the lodgement requirement but they also fulfil a critical secondary importance of facilitating 'assisted cash'. This is for people who, due to whatever reason including disability, cannot use ATMs by themselves.

Total Number of ATMs (Not Including Limited ATMs) - December 2022

(Source: Central Bank of Ireland)

NUTS Regions in Ireland

Ireland in its entirety comprises the NUTS1 Region. There are 3 NUTS2 Regions and 8 NUTS3 Regions in Ireland (in bold), set out below:

Northern and Western Region, consisting of:

o Border - Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo; and

o West - Galway County, Galway City, Mayo, and Roscommon;

Southern Region, consisting of:

o Mid-West - Clare, Limerick County, Limerick City and Tipperary;

o South-East - Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford County, and Waterford City; and

o South-West - Cork, Cork City, and Kerry;

Eastern and Midland Region, consisting of:

o Dublin - Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin;

o Mid-East - Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow; and

o Midland - Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath.