3. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Finance his views on postal orders as a means for making payments for bills with State agencies and local authorities, especially among those with limited IT skills and no chequebooks; whether such organisations have the right to refuse postal orders; if so, whether this could be amended through his offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27878/25]

Sentiment score: -0.21

We know that the use of cheques in this country has declined dramatically, especially since Covid. The current rate of use is now half what it was in 2023, and has probably declined more. I do not have the up-to-date figures. Many people do not have chequebooks anymore or if they do, they are stashed away in a box somewhere and are not used that much. Equally, there are many older people who do not have bank cards because they do have bank accounts. In this context, what are the Minister's views on postal orders as a means of making payments to State agencies and local authorities, especially among those with limited IT skills and no chequebooks? Do these entities have the right to refuse postal orders? If they do, can this be amended through the Minister's offices?

Sentiment score: -0.10

What I am more interested in is the Minister raising it with the agencies. For example, South Dublin County Council has cash offices in Tallaght and Clondalkin, but many people who rely solely on public transport find it very hard to get to those places. I wish to give a specific example regarding resident parking permits for an area that have to be paid through South Dublin Parking Services. When a resident tried to make an arrangement to do this by phone, they were told, "Sorry, cheques only, we are not accepting postal orders". I acknowledge that this was a contractor acting on behalf of a local government agency, but there seems to be a miscommunication at that point because I have heard other stories about other agencies. I do not have the time to go through it, but maybe a communication should be issued to explicitly state that postal orders should always be accepted as legal tender in these cases.

Sentiment score: 0.14