124. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the steps he is taking to ensure adequate access to cash and in-person banking services in rural communities, particularly towns in counties Roscommon and Galway; the way in which the effectiveness of the access-to-cash framework is being assessed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68571/26]

I ask the Minister the steps being taken to ensure adequate access to cash and in-person banking services in rural communities, particularly in towns in the counties of Roscommon and Galway, and how the effectiveness of the access-to-cash framework is being assessed under the Finance Act (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) 2025.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Government is committed to ensuring that cash remains available as a means of payment and last year put legislation in place to achieve the same. The Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure Act) 2025, which was commenced on 13 June 2025, implements a recommendation from the 2022 retail banking review as part of the legislative framework. The section 5 order issued under the Act established criteria to ensure that access to cash infrastructure across the State remains sufficient and effective. Designated entities which are credit institutions that hold prescribed percentages of current accounts and household deposits are responsible for ensuring those criteria are met. The Central Bank is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the access-to-cash framework on a quarterly basis. This includes assessing the number of cash service points and the ATMs against the criteria prescribed in the section 5 order.

The initial quarterly reports published by the Central Bank indicate that the levels of cash infrastructure remain broadly in line with those criteria. Where non-compliance is identified, the designated entities are responsible for taking the necessary steps to address it. In addition to the access-to-cash criteria, the Central Bank has implemented a local deficiency framework, effective since 1 July this year. The framework allows members of the public to notify the Central Bank where they believe there is inefficient access to cash services in their locality, even where the access-to-cash criteria for the wider region have been met. Perhaps that is something the Deputy is referring to in his own constituency. The Central Bank has published guidelines detailing how it will assess submissions, make determinations on whether a local deficiency in cash infrastructure exists, and decide if remediation is required. The guidelines are available on the Central Bank's website, along with a cash access map, to help individuals to identify the location of cash services in their area.

I thank the Minister of State for his answer and I am reassured by what he tells me. Cash is still a vital component of our economy, especially in rural areas. In my own town of Ballygar, County Galway, we lost the Bank of Ireland in 2021 and access to 24-hour cash. It took a considerable campaign by the Ballygar Regeneration Group to get the Athenry Credit Union to install an ATM in June of this year. Cash still remains a critical safety net for individual groups, especially elderly people, people who are living with disability or people who may have an intellectual disability. It is a tool for social inclusion. It allows for immediate settlement of bills and it is a fundamental safeguard for consumer privacy. It is also a real backup in cases where the digital infrastructure around money transfers may fail or in the case of a natural disaster.

I could not agree more with the Deputy. It is critically important that we retain the use of cash and that it is available and acceptable by all businesses. It is a legitimate way of paying for goods and services. I will address what has been done to correct deficiencies in the Deputy's constituency, which he is focusing on this evening. The most recent quarterly access to cash report published by the Central Bank, based on data collected as of 30 June, identified a non-compliance with the criteria in the west region, of which counties Galway and Roscommon are part. Specifically, deficits were identified in the number of ATMs per 100,000 people and the percentage of the population that should be within 10 km of a cash service point.

Detailed information on the number and location of ATM cash service points is available on the Central Bank website. The Central Bank has issued a non-compliance notification to the designated entities and after receipt of the notification, the designated entities have at least one month and up to eight weeks to present proposals to the bank for addressing each instance of non-compliance. Regarding what the Deputy is raising in the Chamber today, the Central Bank is acutely aware of where there are deficiencies and is already acting on that.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I take the reassurance that there is a constant monitoring of cash access and that the system is responsive to individual communities and groups that have a problem in accessing cash.

I come back to the idea that rural communities depend on cash. Due to the lack of transport links and accessibility to ATMs or other banking services, it helps people who are unbanked and those who rely on setting their day-to-day grocery bills and transactions in cash. It is an accessible, physical means of exchange for vulnerable citizens. It also helps increased budget management for many people because cash is a tangible thing for them. In a world of increasing loss of privacy for individual citizens where major corporations control our identities and data, it is most important that we have the safety net of cash in our society.

"Local deficiencies" is the term used in the legislation for where particular difficulties arise in accessing cash in NUTS 3 regions. Even if a region meets the designations but people locally feel that particular pockets within the overall region are adversely affected, there is the mechanism whereby a local person or representative can notify the Central Bank directly. The Central Bank will then assess each submission and determine whether that particular local geographical area warrants a remedy. There a very clear mechanism whereby local areas can ensure that access to cash is readily available. As a fourth-generation postmaster in a small village in Westmeath, what I would say is that, if people do not use services such as that, they will lose them. It is critical that people use the services that are there because we only miss the water when the well runs dry. Services such as the post office and credit union, particularly in rural Ireland, are critical for ensuring that people who are not banking literate have the ability to carry on their daily lives, pay their bills, access the cash, etc. I will put the call out there to use the services that are in people's localities because if they do not, they will lose them.