Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice said an over-reliance on digital payments is dangerous.

The ‘Access to Cash Bill’ will be signed off at Cabinet on Wednesday and gives the Central Bank new powers to address problems with access to cash, especially in rural and regional areas.

It comes after the Cabinet approved the general scheme of the Access to Cash Bill which is designed to ensure continued availability of cash and ATMs.

The Minister for Finance said it was important not to ‘force change’ on people

The executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties Liam Herrick has queried what risk assessment was carried out, if any, by gardaí who attended at ATMs

MEP Billy Kelleher said that banks ‘have a near monopoly’ in Ireland and are taking customers for granted.

Daragh Cassidy from Bonkers.ie said Irish people are still writing up to 20 million cheques per year and the usage of cards versus cash is currently "getting up to 50-50."

The bank said over the last five years there had been a 'dramatic increase' in the use of digital banking services