Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With the permission of the House, I am sharing my speaking time with Deputy James O'Connor. I welcome and support this Bill. I compliment the former Minister, Michael McGrath, who worked on it initially, and the Minister, Deputy Chambers, for bringing it forward and ensuring there will be sufficient and effective access to cash in future in this State. Without Government intervention, it is likely that over time we would see a further reduction in the number of ATMs across the State and this is something we do not want to see happening. Cash is legal tender and we should support its use.

One area where the Government can ensure cash is used - I acknowledge it has changed its policy in this regard in recent years -is when people are applying for social welfare payments. Some years ago, the then Minister actually removed the option on the application forms of accessing social welfare payments through people's local post offices. People were being guided to use banks and electronic transfers. This was discouraging people from using post offices. The post office network has been extremely beneficial in terms of maintaining cash in local communities. Where banks have closed, the post offices have stepped up to the mark and are servicing customers in smaller settlements, towns and villages. The Government ensuring that social welfare payments are paid through the post office network is one way of supporting cash in our communities.

Another possibility in this regard is ensuring that unemployment assistance or unemployment benefit payments must be paid through the post office network. This would have a dual impact. It would help to hinder the committing of fraud because people would have to go in person to collect their payments from the post office. It would also keep cash in circulation in communities. Last week, we had representatives of the Irish Postmasters Union in the audiovisual room. I put it on the record that I am a postmaster. I am not speaking for my own benefit, but with the benefit of experience. Where we have post offices in rural communities, we tend to have a greater number of other businesses as well because cash is in circulation in those communities. If we support our post office network, we will actually be supporting our local retail stores and pharmacists, etc., because cash will be maintained in those areas. This is one area on which I would like to see the Government having a greater focus.

I also raise the issue of sporting facilities and sporting organisations saying they cannot accept cash on entry. In certain locations, I have been contacted by people who have been lifelong supporters of club and county teams. They arrived at the county grounds and were told that if they had not bought their tickets in the local SuperValu, or whatever the outlet, they could not get in through the gate. I think this is wrong. The Government should write to the GAA and all sporting bodies and ensure that when we are talking about cash being legal tender, we would ensure it is accepted at events run by sporting organisations.

I was contacted by somebody who told me that the organisers of the ploughing championships did maintain a cash entrance but an elderly person had to walk over a kilometre to use it. That is wrong. Cash is legal tender, we need to support it and the Government can do that in many of its policy decisions. This one is a very welcome policy decision.

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