Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach to begin Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Access to Cash Bill

The meeting in Committee Room 4 of Leinster House will be split into two sessions to hear from:

• 3pm – Officials from the Department of Finance;
• 5pm – Representatives from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy John McGuinness said: “The Retail Banking Review conducted by the Department of Finance found that while there is a reasonable level of cash access in the State, there is no framework to maintain such reasonable access into the future.

“The Access to Cash Bill proposes to ensure the continued reasonable access to cash in the State and to establish a framework to provide that any future evolution of the cash infrastructure will be managed in a fair, orderly, transparent, and equitable manner.

“The Bill further proposes to require compliance with regional criteria that set the minimum numbers of ATMs per 100,000 people, and the proportion within 10km of an ATM and a cash service point. It also proposes for supervision by the Central Bank of Ireland of ATM operators and cash-in-transit companies.

“The Committee welcomes this opportunity to scrutinise this important piece of proposed legislation and looks forward to examining the Heads of the Bill with the Department officials and representatives of the Banking and Payments Federation.”

The Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 4 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.