Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 February 2024
111. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Finance if his Department intends to take steps to ensure that the public will have access to the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership which was recently restricted as a result of a judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5432/24]
View answerIn November of 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20, that a provision of the EU AML directive, under which information on the beneficial ownership of corporate and other legal entities, held in central registers, must be provided to the general public, is invalid. The Court found that the provision interfered with the rights recognised in Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.
To ensure our domestic legislation complies with the Court’s ruling, and following consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, a Statutory Instrument was prepared amending Regulations which govern two of Ireland’s registers of Beneficial Ownership information - the Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial & Provident Societies (RBO) that operate under the auspices of the Companies Registration Office as well as the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles, Credit Unions and Unit Trusts, which is operated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
As Minister for Finance, I signed into law the relevant Regulations: S.I. 308 of 2023, the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) (Amendment) Regulations 2023.
The Deputy maybe aware, that recent political agreement was reached in Brussels in respect of the new EU AML ‘Rule Book’. However, formal agreement including the text remains to be agreed by all Member States. The EU Council proposes that provision for access to Beneficial Ownership information, by the public, should be on the basis of ‘legitimate interest’. Following agreement of the new EU AML package, officials will consider what further amendments to domestic legislation are required, as part of the transposition process.
Transparency is very important in this area and we must await the outcome of the new EU AML package to see if changes can be made to enable more access to the registers of Beneficial Ownership in Ireland.
In the meantime, however, I have asked my officials to examine this issue further and to assess whether it is possible, currently, to allow more access within the parameters of EU law and in a manner consistent with the ECJ judgement.
