Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2018
87. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the status of the Central Bank (national claims information database) Bill; when it will be introduced and enacted; if concerns put forward by an organisation (details supplied) will delay the publishing of the Bill; the changes that will be made as a result of the submission made by the organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18700/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 19 December 2017, the Government approved the General Scheme of the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill, which was prepared following extensive work on the part of the Data Sub-group of the Cost of Insurance Working Group last year.
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel assigned a drafter to the Bill on 26 January 2017 and officials in my Department are currently working with the drafter to finalise the Bill as soon as possible.
I also submitted the Bill to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Taoiseach for Pre-legislative Scrutiny at the beginning of the year, and that Committee contacted me in February to indicate that it would not be conducting any further scrutiny on the Bill.
A public consultation was launched on the General Scheme which concluded in March and the responses received were published on my Departments website: http://www.finance.gov.ie/updates/responses-to-central-bank-national-claims-information-database-bill-2017-consultation/. A number of responses were received from industry and business groups. My officials have been reviewing the content of these responses as they relate to the drafting of the Bill. As part of the process of finalising the Bill, the Department is assessing the responses with regard to the validity of the concerns expressed against the overall policy aim of the legislation.
The Deputy will recall that the policy aim of the Database is to enable policymakers to better understand the factors that influence the cost of insurance. This will require the collection of information linked to other factors such as the income and costs of insurers, and the settlement channels used to settle claims and the associated costs. On the basis of its review of the responses to date, the Department does not anticipate that substantive amendments will be required at this stage and therefore it is not anticipated to give rise to any delay in the finalisation and publication of the Bill.
In that regard, the Bill is included in the Government Legislative Programme on the list of Priority Legislation for publication this session and based on drafting progress to date I anticipate being in a position to publish the Bill before the summer recess.
A consultation will also have to take place with the European Central Bank on the Bill once it is published.
As the Deputy will be aware, it will take a certain amount of time following publication of the Bill, for it to pass through the Houses of the Oireachtas however I am hopeful that with the cooperation of all parties in the Houses, the Bill can be considered and approved expeditiously.
