Letters to the Editor: Unintended effects of the move towards a cashless society

Cork publican Benny McCabe urges community leaders to consider the real lived experience of people on the margins

Benny McCabe writes that the now ubiquitous use of card over cash has taken away addicts' traditional method of passive begging. Picture: iStock

Recent events in Cork city centre have prompted voices of concern from such diverse quarters as Tánaiste Micheál Martin to bodies representing overseas students, adding to the already stated concerns of all business associations, charity groups, tourist bodies, concerned private citizens, and indeed the gardaí, who are pleading for resources.

One may wonder why, since the concern is undoubtedly unanimous, that there is such a sense of inertia and growing despondency and a realisation that in the absence of leadership things may get worse before they get better.