Joe McHugh
Question:219. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Finance the regulations in place with regard to a crowdfunding platform (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39928/20]
View answerTuesday, 1 December 2020
Questions (219)
Written answers
Crowdfunding is a way to raise funds for a specific cause or project by asking a large number of people to provide money, usually in small amounts, and usually during a relatively short period of time, such as a few months. It can be used by SMEs as an alternative way to finance their business and also by ordinary people and charities to raise money for causes, where the money is donated. Crowdfunding is not currently a regulated activity in Ireland.
A new EU Regulation on European crowdfunding service providers for business aims to deliver a uniform framework for crowdfunding service providers and introduce a straightforward passporting regime across the EU. The Regulation was published on 10 November 2020 and it will come into force a year after publication.
The Regulations apply to European Crowdfunding Service Providers financing projects up to a value of €5,000,000 per project (calculated over a 12 month period). Reward and donation based crowdfunding operations fall outside of the scope of the Regulation which covers lending and investment based crowdfunding.
Authorised Crowdfunding Service Platforms will be subject to ongoing supervision by the Central Bank and will need to provide an annual report of their work to the Central Bank. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will maintain a public register of all authorised CSPs.
Go Fund Me is a US based crowdfunding platform, used for raising charitable donations and as such, it will not fall within the scope of the EU regulation on European crowdfunding service providers.