Moate ATM issue: Finance Minister urged to intervene

The ongoing issue of Moate having no ATM after 9pm came into sharp focus again at this month's Athlone Municipal District meeting after one councillor called on the Minister for Finance to urgently consider ATM services for the town as part of new legislation governing access to cash to be brought forward early this year.

It comes as the government is to impose requirements on ATM providers, banks and financial institutions to ensure there is “reasonable access to cash” across the country in order to avoid what they called financial exclusion.

As it stands, Moate has no ATM after 9pm because both machines are located in-store and they are not as well stocked as bank ATMs, so Cllr Vinny McCormack told the meeting that both can be out of service at the same time.

He believes it would be a “hugely positive step for the town” to get this investment in an ATM given that Moate is part of the Town First programme.

“The availability of cash is vital,” the Fianna Fáil councillor stressed, saying that several businesses, like pubs, are increasingly housing ATMs, and there are reports of slightly more use of cash than before.

He called for the support of other Athlone/Moate councillors to write to Minister for Finance Michael McGrath, to consider Moate for additional ATM services as part of new legislation governing access to cash, which is due to be advanced soon.

His party colleague Cllr Liam McDaniel agreed to contact the Minister, saying Moate had two banks, now it has none. It would mean it would be a place to stop to get cash and he'd be happy to do so. Cllr McDaniel pointed out that the case could also be made for Kilbeggan.

Minister McGrath has already stated that the number of ATMS should, at the very least, remain the same.

As it currently stands, ATM services are not regulated, something the Minister believes needs to be addressed.

Launching public consultation for a new National Payments Strategy before Christmas, Minister McGrath said there is a need to determine how far it would be reasonable to travel to access an ATM service, what the level of service customers and reasonably expect regarding maintenance, and the denomination of notes to be provided.

He said the Central Bank will be given “enabling powers” to ensure those who operate and run the ATMs are the subject of an appropriate level of regulation.

Asked about financial institutions opting out of regional locations, the Minister said he didn't think that there could be regional “carve outs” for businesses, based on location, because they could be the very areas at risk of financial exclusion now, and into the future.

The consultation period will run until February 14.