Written Answers - Personal Identification.
Michael Bell
Question:
164
Mr. Bell
asked the
Minister for Finance
if his attention has been drawn to the fact that due to Central Bank rules, lenders have advised mortgage brokers that unless a client has a utility bill they will be required to go to a Garda station and have their address verified by a garda; if this proposed revised procedure is due to a direction or regulation from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12967/01]
The current money laundering guidance notes require financial institutions to verify address as part of the process to take reasonable measures to establish identification as required by section 32 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994. Some of the means of verifying address which are set out in the guidance notes include: checking electoral register, credit reference agency search, recent utility bill, bank or building society statement, checking a local telephone directory or by way of an introduction from a respected customer. In exceptional cases, where independent address verification is not possible, a manager may authorise the opening of an account where satisfied with the circumstances.
The revised draft guidance notes, which will be finalised and issued shortly, contain additional examples of items which can be used for address verification. These include home-motor insurance documents, social welfare documents, documents issued by Revenue, for example, tax free allowance certificate, and letter-statement from a person in responsibility who is in a position to confirm the person's address. The proposed new Garda form, which is not yet in place, is intended to serve as one possible alternative method of personal identification for persons who do not hold a passport or driving licence. It is not intended to be a means of address verification.
By way of background, I should explain that the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, implements the EU money laundering directive in Ireland. Section 32 of the Act provides,inter alia, that a financial institution “shall take reasonable measures to establish the identity of any person for whom it proposes to provide a service”. It is the legal responsibility of each financial institution to ensure that it complies with this provision.
The Act does not state what may or may not represent reasonable measures and does not provide for the making of regulations in this regard. Accordingly, in order to facilitate consistent implementation of the anti-money laundering provisions of the Act, guidance notes were issued in April 1995 by the money laundering steering committee, established under the aegis of my Department and representing various sectors of the financial services industry and the relevant regulatory authorities. These guidance notes recommend that a customer's identity be verified by reference to a document obtained from a reputable source which bears a photograph and signature. The guidance notes also indicate how a person's address might be verified, as outlined above.
The 1995 guidance notes have been under review for some time. The issue of customer identification procedures, including the issue of setting out more specific guidance on alternative methods of identification and address verification is a primary part of this review. The objective is to ensure that measures adopted by institutions should not deny a person access to financial services on the grounds that they do not possess specified identification documentation, while at the same time ensuring that financial institutions are in a position to comply with their legal obligations under the Act. This review process is being finalised and it is expected that revised guidance notes will be issued in due course.
