Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2015
114. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the reason for the significant delay in establishing a central credit register to date; the implications of this delay for bank lending practices; if he is satisfied that the project will be operational in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24578/15]
View answerThe Central Bank of Ireland is responsible for establishing the Central Credit Register. Since the enactment of the Credit Reporting Act, the Central Bank has:
- concluded an EU wide public procurement process in December 2014 to select a partner to establish and operate the Register on its behalf, signing contracts with CRIF Ireland Limited in February 2015;
- commenced a design stage to specify the detailed data requirements and conducted a data survey with representative lenders and
- published a Consultation Paper in April 2015 seeking views on key issues and in respect of which nineteen responses were received by the closing date of 12 June.
The Central Bank has advised that the next steps on the implementation of the Register involve:
- finalising the data requirements and overall solution design
- carrying out a privacy impact assessment to ensure appropriate controls are in place
- drafting the necessary regulations under the Act to provide the legal basis for lenders submitting data;
- consulting the Data Protection Commissioner on the draft regulations as required by the Act.
The Central Bank has indicated that it remains confident that a credit register solution will be in place by mid-2016 and will be capable of processing data submitted. The Central Bank continues to engage with lenders and their industry representative groups to understand the implications of change for the lenders. The operational implementation of the Register is a complex process and the final timeline will be influenced by the scale of the technical and operational changes to be implemented by over 500 lenders.
In its Consultation Paper, the Central Bank sought views on its proposal to have an initial credit register implementation phase focusing on lending to individuals followed by a subsequent phase addressing commercial credit. Responses to the Consultation Paper are now being reviewed and discussions continue on the phasing and extent of the data to be captured. The Central Bank's intention is to establish a realistic schedule for lenders to commence data submissions and subsequently to access the Register information through enquiries.
In the meantime, lenders may continue to access the private credit bureau services they had heretofore used for consumer lending. It is acknowledged that the Central Credit Register will provide a more comprehensive view of credit information for both individuals and businesses when it is fully operational.
