Donegal County Council to stop accepting cash payments at Buncrana office
Cessation of cash transactions coincides with move back to former Town Council premises which now houses a remote working hub
Donegal County Council will no longer accept cash payments at its Buncrana office when it relocates from its temporary Main Street base back to the former Town Council premises on St Oran’s Road next month.
The Inishowen Independent has learned that the office’s cash register will be closed permanently, with no further provision for cash transactions at the local authority office.
The move comes just months after the Oireachtas passed the Access to Cash law, aimed at protecting access to cash as a viable payment method - particularly for vulnerable groups at risk of financial exclusion.
Among the most common cash transactions at the Buncrana office are payments for local authority housing rents, parking fines, and commercial rates.
The council has been operating from temporary premises in the town centre during the refurbishment and extension of its former Town Council premises on St Oran’s Road.
While local councillors have welcomed the office’s return to the redeveloped premises, there is strong opposition to the withdrawal of cash services.
“I’m absolutely opposed to the removal of cash services, or any reduction of services in Buncrana,” Sinn Féin councillor Jack Murray said. “Since the II Hub opened, both myself and Padraig Mac Lochlainn have been lobbying hard for, as was originally agreed, part of the building to be a shopfront for council services. A town the size of Buncrana should be entitled to that.
“The council should be delivering services where members of the public can call in and engage with staff from the local authority - and that should include the payment of council rent or any other payment by cash.
“A large amount of the staff's interaction with the public involves cash payments, and that should be maintained.
“The return to the former Town Council office is welcome, but I would have expected that services would have returned in full, not at a reduced level.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Fionán Bradley said the decision was presented to elected members as a ‘fait accompli’ at the end of a recent Inishowen Municipal District meeting, with the change coming at the request of the council’s finance department.
“The number of people making cash payments has fallen dramatically and it was seen as neither viable nor really needed,” he said.
“But the council needs to provide every option for people, including paying cash for rent or parking fines or whatever it might be.
“I certainly wouldn’t advocate that the council should go down the cashless road entirely. There should always be an option for cash. This cashless society idea doesn’t work for everybody, and shouldn’t be forced upon everyone.
“There was no consultation with councillors, it was just presented to us as a fait accompli at the end of a MD meeting.
“I have asked for a detailed analysis of the number of people who were making cash payments, and an explanation for the rationale behind the reason to cease, but I haven’t received it yet.”
Cllr Murray added that he hopes all Inishowen councillors will unite in opposing what he described as a decision made unilaterally by the council executive.
“Buncrana is the second largest town in Donegal, and people across the south Inishowen district are entitled to services where they can engage with the local authority in full, as happens in much smaller towns elsewhere.
“I hope all nine councillors can stand together to resist this decision and get it overturned.”