Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2022
262. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Finance if he will respond to concerns raised by a person (details supplied) in relation to their employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24641/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to thank Deputy O’Dowd for raising this question. My officials have consulted with the Central Bank of Ireland on the particulars of this matter.
Financial sanctions are restrictive measures imposed on persons, entities and bodies in an effort to curtail their activities and to exert pressure and influence on them. Restrictive measures include, but are not limited to, financial sanctions, trade sanctions, restrictions on travel or civil aviation restrictions.
Financial sanctions emanate from the EU and the UN. All natural and legal persons in the EU are obliged to comply with financial sanctions. You will appreciate that the effective implementation of these measures is a binding obligation for Ireland, the importance of which has been reinforced following the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Central Bank does not have any role in deciding on who should be subject to sanctions as all such decisions are taken by the European Council. Specific EU sanctions regulations require the immediate freezing of funds and/or economic resources of sanctioned individuals and/or entities. EU sanctions regulations apply to the individuals/entities specifically listed in the sanctions, but they also apply to entities that are owned or controlled by sanctioned individuals/entities.
It is important to note that the Central Bank has no role in freezing funds or economic resources of sanctioned individuals/entities. The legal obligation to freeze funds and economic resources (including bank accounts) is placed on economic operators such as credit and financial institutions.
The EU sanctions regulations provide for a limited number of derogations under which frozen funds can be released. As part of its role as a Competent Authority for sanctions, the Central Bank is responsible for the assessment of derogation applications.
The Central Bank is fully engaging with all applicants for derogations. I am sure you will appreciate that as derogations are designed to allow the release of funds that should otherwise be frozen, a robust assessment of applications is required to ensure that any authorisation of a derogation does not undermine the purpose of the sanctions. Therefore, the assessment of derogations is complex and it requires establishing with certainty that the applicant is legally entitled to the requested derogation. Unfortunately, this may be time consuming in some cases.
I am sympathetic to the situation in which your constituent finds himself. However, I can confirm that the Central Bank is actively assessing all derogation applications it has received and continually liaises and provides feedback directly to the applicants throughout the course of the assessment.
