The cheque book for farmers is “the greatest thing that was ever devised” according to Independent Ireland TD, Michael Fitzmaurice.
He made the comments in the Dáil in recent days during a debate on the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024: Second Stage.
Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers moved the proposal that the Bill now be read a second time after it was published, with government approval on July 31, 2024.
“It will establish a framework to provide that any future evolution of the cash infrastructure will be managed in a fair, orderly, transparent and equitable manner and provide for the supervision of both ATM deployers and CIT providers,” Minister Chambers stated.
“Cash is still important to our society and economy. It is important to consumers in all walks of life because it is a private, secure and instant form of payment.
“It is a budgeting tool for many people and allows individuals to maintain their financial independence. Cash is also important for the day-to-day revenue and expenses of many SMEs,” he added.
Farming cheque book
Speaking on the matter, Roscommon-Galway TD, Michael Fitzmaurice said: “Cash is legal tender. When anyone talks about cash, it is nearly a thing that people should not have in their pocket nowadays.
“It is legal tender. People are allowed to use it wherever they want.
“It is ironic that even government departments, and we often see it in appeals or whatever, ask older farmers who might be getting the pension and paid for something in cash to show where it came out of their account.
“Are people not entitled to pay in whatever way they want for the nuts or bit of fertiliser, over a certain length of time when it is put together because one week would not cover a tonne of fertiliser?” Fitzmaurice added.
The Independent Ireland TD criticised banks claiming that they were trying to usher away the days of using cash entirely and argued that they are doing the same with cheque books.
“There is a particular cheque book for farmers. It is the greatest thing that was ever devised because there is a duplicate in it that cannot be lost,” Fitzmaurice continued.
“There was a duplicate of every cheque written out, although it was in lighter writing. All the farmers had to do was throw the cheque book into the accountant who then knew everything they had done all year. They tried to get rid of them as well.
“The banks were pushing the idea that people buying cattle at marts should use their cards. They did not want to give them cheque books and, above all things, they did not want them to talk about using cash,” he added.
The TD said that reliability is key in terms of retaining the use of cash.
He explained that if there is a cyber attack or digital outage and people cannot use their cards or phones to pay, at least if they have physical currency in their pocket they will be able to purchase items.
“I welcome the legislation. It is a step forward. I encourage the Minister of State to ensure that departments look again at this because some of them look for receipts, for example, and proof of where money came out of a bank, such as in the case of agricultural appeals,” Fitzmaurice said.
“If you get money out of the post office, it will not show up. That is the case if you pick up your pension,” he concluded.