Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 November 2016
167. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance when the Central Credit Register will be operational; the reason for the delay in its creation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35758/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the enactment of the Credit Reporting Act, the Central Bank has taken a number of steps to deliver the Central Credit Register including the publication last September of regulations setting out certain detailed measures which will govern the content and operation of the Credit Register (information on this is available on the Central Bank's website at https://www.centralbank.ie/consumer/Pages/ccr.aspx).
As previously indicated, the Credit Register is being implemented on a phased basis with phase 1 focusing on lending to consumers and phase 2 focusing on lending to businesses. The Central Bank has advised that data submission by lenders for phase 1 will commence after 30 June 2017. During the intervening period, technical and operational changes will be implemented by lenders and data quality assurance testing will be carried out. Approximately 500 lenders will be registered with the Central Credit Register during this time in order to commence data submission from 30 June 2017. A period of time between 30 June 2017 and 31 December 2017 will then be provided to ensure that the data submitted to the register is of sufficient quality to allow the Credit Register match personal and credit information and to be able, subject to data quality assurance, to produce credit reports after 31 December 2017. The submission of data under phase 2 is currently projected to commence in the second half of 2018. The primary focus of Central Bank activity on the Credit Register at this point is to engage with lenders to ensure they can submit data within the required timelines.
