Michael McGrath
Question:86. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied with the implementation of the Single European Payments Area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8839/14]
View answerThursday, 20 February 2014
Questions (86)
Written answers
The implementation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in Ireland has been under way for some time now, overseen by the Central Bank of Ireland. In recent months a significant proportion of payments generated in Ireland have moved to the two SEPA schemes, SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Direct Debit. It is anticipated that all payments will be processed in SEPA by 31 March 2014, well in advance of the transitional deadline of 1 August 2014, allowed by the European Commission.
As we transition between our domestic payments system and SEPA, delays on when payments are shown as having been received in bank accounts have been experienced by a small percentage of account holders. These relate to an intra-day delay in payment processing and do not have value implications for customers. The Central Bank has informed me that it is working closely with the Irish Payment Services Organisation and the individual banks to have any known issues rectified in the shortest possible timeframe.
The Deputy will also be aware of the impact of SEPA on the end January Exchequer returns. This problem related to the longer notice period required for SEPA Direct Debits. The end January Exchequer figures were down in year-on-year terms. However, this was a technical timing issue and will not alter the tax forecast for the year. I understand that these notice periods are expected to reduce as SEPA is reviewed over the coming years.