Ahern ATM charge plan shows how out of touch Govt is
Issued : Friday 3 September, 2010
Statement by Pat Rabbitte TD
Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources
Just when you think that it is not possible for the members of this government to show themselves to be any more out of touch with the man or woman in the street, up comes Dermot Ahern with a proposal to penalise ordinary bank customers in order to combat tiger kidnappings!
Apparently, the Minister believes that a tax on ATM transactions “will reduce the amount of cash in the banks”. The Minister and his government has already succeeded spectacularly in doing that and whatever cash is in the banks belongs to the taxpayers and bank customers.
Minister Ahern’s proposition that increasing charges on ordinary bank customers will reduce the number of tiger raids is a cynical distraction. If he wants to reduce the amount of cash in circulation, why does he not press the banks to reduce the charges they impose for virtually all non cash transactions? And why does Minister Ahern not ask his government colleagues to reduce the level of stamp duty on credit and debit cards. Ireland is one of the few countries to impose such a tax and the government raked in €61m from it in 2009.
Not since Noel Dempsey used the government jet and state car to get to Glenties has a Minister shown himself to be so out of touch.
