Payments

Ireland minister of finance to bring proposal to ensure ATM access

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January 22, 2024

Michael McGrath, minister for finance in Ireland, has brought a proposal to the Cabinet to ensure access to ATMs through the Access to Cash Bill. With this bill, the Central Bank would require banks to provide ATMs in areas where people have limited access to cash, according to a report by CTE.

The amount of cash withdrawn has fallen in Ireland from $21.79 billion in 2020 to $14.16 billion in 2022. However, the minister argues cash access is necessary for the country. In particular, the bill would mean there should be 95 ATMs per 100,000 people in the border regions and 80 per 100,000 people in Dublin.

The government is also working on plans to ensure that people can pay with cash for essential services.

"I think it's important there is reasonable access to cash around the country and this will lay out the criteria whereby ATMs must be available within certain parameters across society to meet the needs of the people of our country," McGrath said in the report. "That is fundamentally what this legislation is about — to avoid the risk of financial exclusion."