I reiterate that the Government is committed to supporting the development of Ireland's sporting ecosystem and the support that continues to be provided for football is a key example of that commitment in action. This is evidenced by the significant funding provided to the FAI, including capital investment for sports infrastructure and funding for training facilities. As I referred to earlier, the programme for Government includes a commitment to exploring new mechanisms for the creation of football academies with …

As Minister of State with responsibility for insurance reform, I confirm to the Deputy that work is well advanced on the new action plan. I have met with a number of key stakeholders and it is hoped we will seek submissions from the public on the action plan in the next number of weeks with a view to having it finalised in the next two months.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 7, to delete lines 13 to 21 and substitute the following: “ “credit institution” means any of the following that provides, or offers to provide, current accounts in the State: (a) the holder of a licence under section 9 of the Central Bank Act 1971; (b) the holder of an authorisation under section 9A of the Central Bank Act 1971; (c) a credit institution authorised and supervised by the competent authority of another Member State that carries on business in the State, by way of the e…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 7, to delete lines 24 and 25 and substitute the following: “(a) deposit or receive funds, (b) withdraw or transfer funds, and”.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 7, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following definition: “ “funds” has the same meaning as it has in Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market;”.

Amendment No. 4 proposes to change the required distance for the percentage of the population to be 5 km from an ATM or cash service point. It also proposes to add the criteria of a minimum percentage of ATMs that provide the necessary functionality to be accessible for those with visual impairments and other forms of disabilities. Section 6 of the Bill sets out population criteria that will require a specified percentage of the population in a specified region to be within a set radius of not less than 5 km and no…

Not agreed.

Níl.

There is an old saying, "Cash is king." I agree with that. It is very important that cash is facilitated. As a postmaster myself, I fully appreciate what Deputy Conway-Walsh said about the good work the post office network did in making sure people's pensions and unemployment benefit were paid out, even though these were not on the system, so to speak, and manually did it to make sure cash was in circulation. One thing I always say is the best way to make sure these services are preserved into the future is for peo…

Access fees are a charge, usually a flat-rate fee irrespective of the amount being withdrawn, levied by an ATM operator to use a specific ATM. Most of us pay bank fees and charges to our current account providers. However, customers of Irish banks and payment service providers have not been subject to what are known as domestic access fees or ATM access fees. Access fees have not been charged for domestic withdrawals in Ireland to date due to Visa and Mastercard rules. However, visitors, including those from EU cou…

I move amendment No. 8: In page 40, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following new section: “Amendment of section 61G of Act of 1942 48. Section 61G(1) of the Act of 1942 is amended— (a) by the substitution of “a designated enactment, a designated statutory instrument or the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 (in so far as that Act is not a designated enactment)” for “a designated enactment or designated statutory instrument”, and (b) by the substitution of the following paragraph f…

I will respond initially to Senator Nelson Murray's query. On the previous day we gave an undertaking to look at the issue, but I did not realise we would be back less than a week later to go through Committee Stage. It has not been possible in that short timeframe to give the matter the scrutiny it needs. We are concerned that any delay in the implementation of the Bill could have unintended consequences. For example, it could prevent the Bill being enacted and giving the support to the people who are in the regul…

I thank both Senators for their contributions, and Senator Murphy for submitting a particular amendment in this regard. He will be aware that my amendment, which was passed on Committee Stage in Dáil Éireann and extended the jurisdiction of the FSPO with regard to the activity of the credit servicing, was an important and comprehensive amendment that addresses the issue that was previously raised regarding the jurisdiction of the FSPO. I thank Senator Murphy's colleagues, in particular, Deputy Doherty, who was very…

We are all aware and very cognisant of the difficult issues involving financial abuse and coercive control. In many cases, the courts, not the FSPO, are the best place to deal with any situation in which one holder of a joint account is in dispute with the other. The role of the FSPO is to resolve complaints between the consumers and financial services or pension providers. The FSPO can make orders against regulated financial services providers but not against third parties or other consumers. Instances of potentia…

The work plan update in terms of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman was published a number of years ago. Extra resources and extra staff have been allocated to try to deal with cases in a much more timely and efficient manner. The consumer protection code I referred to, which I launched last week, is to try to deal with instances before they ever get to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman to ensure financial institutions honour their responsibility, first and foremost, in the protection of the …

I have just double-checked and it is for section 12.

I thank the Senators for raising this matter. It is why I said earlier to Senator's Stephenson that the discussion on section 12 is the most appropriate time to reply. I thank Senator Murphy for tabling the amendment. There was a detailed and comprehensive discussion on this issue on Committee Stage in the Dáil, which highlighted that this complex matter involves wider legal and contractual issues. For the information of Senators, during the Dáil debate I noted the FSPO advised that where a complaint is made to it …

Section 13 provides that the ombudsman may require any person to attend before him and be examined and cross-examined on oath or affirmation. This updates the 2017 FSPO Act to include a provision for cross-examination and also provides for a person to make an affirmation in place of taking an oath. Senators may be aware that many of the amendments in this Bill arise from the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Zalewski v. an adjudication officer, the Workplace Relations Commission, Ireland and the Attorney General.…

I am just confirming with my officials that my understanding is right. This is not one party against the other. I cannot bring my wife, or my wife cannot bring an argument with me to the financial services ombudsman. It would be me and her bringing a complaint to the ombudsman where the financial services provider failed in its duty in terms of a pension we had taken out, for example, or a financial product. It is the financial institution that will be cross-examined, not one of the parties. The amendment Senator M…

I thank the Acting Chairperson. I welcome the opportunity to engage with Members on the Bill. The Bill will strengthen protections for financial customers in Ireland and ensure that the office of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, FSPO, can continue to carry out its statutory functions in line with the Constitution. Many will have heard the ombudsman, Mr. Liam Sloyan, on RTÉ this morning speaking on the FSPO's new report on complaints in 2024. That 6,185 complaints were received by the FSPO and €5.7 mil…