Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 May 2018
164. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance when he expects the insurance accident claims database, to be administered by the Central Bank, to come into operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23198/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe development of the National Claims Information Database is a complex project as insurers very often record data in different ways and do not necessarily use the same definitions. On 19 December 2017, the Government approved the General Scheme of the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill. The Bill is included in the Government Legislative Programme on the list of Priority Legislation for publication this session. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Taoiseach indicated to me in February that it would not be conducting pre-legislative scrutiny on the Bill.
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel assigned a drafter to the Bill on 26 January 2017 and officials in the Department of Finance are currently working with the drafter to finalise a draft of the Bill as soon as possible. I understand that good progress has been made and I am hopeful that a Bill will be published before the end of this legislative Session. A consultation will also have to take place with the European Central Bank on the Bill once it is published.
While it will take a certain amount of time, following publication of the Bill, for the Bill to pass all stages through the Houses of the Oireachtas, I am hopeful that with the cooperation of all parties in the Houses, it can be considered and approved expeditiously.
To ensure that the Database can be operationalised quickly following the enactment of the legislation, the Central Bank has continued to work in parallel on the technical specification for the Database.
