Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2017
31. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the steps he will take to implement the actions attributed to his Department under the measures to enhance the States corporate, economic and regulatory framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50885/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is the lead Department for ten key actions to enhance the State’s corporate, economic and regulatory framework. The Deputy will be pleased to learn that a number of actions have already been implemented and the others are in progress for implementation within their deadlines.
My Department, in consultation with the Central Bank, has transposed MiFID II into Irish law via SI 375/2017. A MiFID II Bill providing for criminal sanctions for certain serious infringements of the MiFID II framework is expected to be enacted in Q1 2018.
Ireland has implemented the Common Reporting Standard which provides for the automatic exchange of financial account information between tax authorities. The first information exchange began in September 2017. Ireland was one of only 3 countries to receive the top rating from the Global Forum on Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information for being fully Compliant with international standards on tax transparency and exchange of information. The Revenue Commissioners, in conjunction with my Department, continue to monitor whether any additional powers or resources are currently required. Any such measures will then be proposed to me as Minister for Finance for appropriate action. Funding allocated to Revenue in Budget 2018 will support them in undertaking a number of initiatives, including:
- Significant reform of the administration of the PAYE system; and
- The enhancement of ICT systems capacity for data matching and data analytics.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Report on Ireland’s Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) was published on 7th September, and found that overall, Ireland has a sound and substantially effective regime to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. The review made a series of detailed recommendations in regard to all aspects of Ireland’s AML/CFT regime. An action plan to address those recommendations has been drafted and is expected to be agreed before year end. The action plan transposes all of the recommendations arising from Ireland’s FATF review, and sets out to deliver improvements in the AML/CFT measures in place in Ireland between now and our 5th year FATF Follow-up Assessment.
Article 30 of the 4th Anti-Money-Laundering Directive requires that Member States hold in a central register, information on the beneficial ownership of corporate and other legal entities incorporated within their territories. It also requires that Member States hold adequate, up-to-date information regarding the beneficial ownership of any express trust governed under its law. My Department is currently transposing these provisions by way of Statutory Instruments. This work is well advanced and the transposition is expected to be concluded shortly.
Finally, in relation to the Progress Report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Report of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis, my officials are working to finalise the report and I expect to publish this before Christmas. The progress report will illustrate the wholesale change in the regulatory culture since the financial crisis, characterised by a more intrusive supervisory approach by the Central Bank. Recent events have shown it is now time for a similar sea change within the Irish retail banking sector, and are a reminder that we cannot be complacent but must continuously strive to improve governance and practice wherever there are failings.
