Central Bank Act 1997

PART I Preliminary and General

1. Short title, construction, collective citation and commencement.

(2)This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be appointed by order or orders made by the Minister, either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be appointed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

(3)This Act, other than sections 3, 36 to 49, 60, 64 to 68, 78 to 83 and 85 and the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1997.

2. Interpretation.

“the Act of 1942” means the Central Bank Act, 1942;

“the Act of 1971” means the Central Bank Act, 1971;

“the Act of 1989” means the Central Bank Act, 1989;

F1[‘Bank’ means the Central BankF2[…]of Ireland;]

F3[‘Central Bank Acts’ means the Central Bank Act 1942 as amended from time to time, and includes all Acts that are to be construed together with that Act as one Act;]

‘contravene’ includes fail to comply;

“the Court” means the High Court;

“credit institution” has the meaning assigned to it by the Regulations of 1992;

F3[‘designated enactment’ means an enactment specified in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Central Bank Act 1942;]

F3[‘designated statutory instrument’ means a statutory instrument specified in Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Central Bank Act 1942;]

F3[‘EEA country’ means a country that is a member of the European Economic Area;]

“enactment” means any Act or instrument made thereunder;

“financial institution” means an undertaking other than a credit institution providing any one or more of the financial services set out in the Schedule to the Regulations of 1992;

“insurance undertaking” has the meaning assigned to it by the Insurance Act, 1989;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

“mortgage lender” means a credit institution or other person whose business includes the making of housing loans where “ housing loan ” means an agreement for credit on the security of a mortgage of a freehold or leasehold estate or interest in a house where—

(a)the loan is made for the purpose of enabling the borrower to provide or improve the house or to purchase the said estate or interest, or

(b)the loan is made for the purpose of refinancing a loan within the meaning of paragraph (a), or

(c)the house is to be used as the principal residence of the borrower or his dependants;

“prescribed” means prescribed by Regulations made by the Minister;

F3[‘publication’ includes publication on an Internet website;]

F3[‘publish’ includes publish by means of the Internet;]

F3[‘record’ means any record of information, however compiled, recorded or stored, and includes—

(a) any book, a register and any other document containing information, and

(b) any disc, tape or other article from which information is capable of being produced in any form capable of being reproduced visually or aurally;]

F3[‘regulated financial service provider’ has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Act of 1942;]

“ the Regulations of 1992 ” means the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 395 of 1992);

“statutory functions”, in relation to the Bank, means its functions—

(a)under the Central Bank ActsF4[…],

(b)imposed by virtue of F5[…] F6[…] the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 395 of 1992), or the European Communities (Consolidated Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 396 of 1992),

(c)under the Unit Trusts Act, 1990 (No. 37 of 1990),

(d)under the Building Societies Act, 1989 (No. 17 of 1989),

(e)under the Companies Act, 1990 (No. 33 of 1990),

(f)under the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1989 (No. 21 of 1989),

(g)under the Investment Limited Partnerships Act, 1994 (No. 24 of 1994),

(h)under the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations, 1989 (S.I. No. 78 of 1989), and any instruments amending that instrument,

(i)under the Stock Exchange Act, 1995 (No. 9 of 1995),

(j)under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 (No. 11 of 1995), and

(k)under any other enactment;

“subsidiary” has the meaning assigned to it by section 155 of the Companies Act, 1963.

(2)For the purposes of the Central Bank ActsF4[…], “ deposit ”, on or after the commencement of this section, means a sum of money accepted on terms under which it is repayable with or without interest whether on demand or on notice or at a fixed or determinable future date.

F3[(2A) For the purposes of this Act, a person is concerned in the management of a body corporate, if the person is in any way involved in directing, managing or administering the affairs of the body or firm.]

(3)In this Act a reference to a section, a Part or a Schedule is a reference to a section or a Part of, or a Schedule to, this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(4)In this Act a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

(5)In this Act a reference to an enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted, whether before or after the commencement of this section, by or under any subsequent enactment.

3. Laying of regulations and orders before Houses of the Oireachtas.

4. Repeals.

(2)The instrument mentioned in column (2) of Part II of the Schedule is hereby revoked to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

PART II Regulation of Payment Systems

5. Definitions (Part II).

“existing payment system” means a payment system operating at the time of the commencement of this section;

“payment system” means a system established in the State, or proposed to be established in the State, by any person, in which credit institutions or financial institutions participate and which provides for—

(a)all or any of the following, namely, the processing, handling, clearance and settlement of any means of payment or of any securities, or

(b)the payment of any moneys by that means of payment, by or as between the members of the system or third parties, whether or not the processing, handling, clearance, settlement or payment of any of the moneys takes place in part or in whole within the State or outside the State;

“rules”, in relation to a payment system or a proposed payment system, means the rules governing or proposed to govern the membership and operation of the payment system.

6. Membership of payment system.

7. Payment systems.

8. Existing payment systems.

(a)submit its rules to the Bank for approval, or

(b)cease to operate.

(2)Pending a decision by the Bank to approve or not to approve of the rules of an existing system submitted to it under subsection (1) (a), the Bank may—

(a)impose on the system such conditions or requirements as it considers appropriate to impose, or

(b)issue a direction under section 12 as if the existing system were a system the rules of which had been approved of by the Bank.

(3)The operators of a payment system may appeal to the Court against the imposition of any condition or requirement or the giving of a direction under this section.

(4)On hearing an appeal under subsection (3) of this section, the Court may confirm, vary or rescind any condition, requirement or direction imposed under this section.

9. Approval of rules.

(a)make its approval subject to conditions or requirements or both as it thinks fit, and

(b)at any time after approval, impose conditions or requirements or both on any class of payment system or amend or revoke any condition or requirement or both to which this subsection relates, whether or not previously amended by this subparagraph.

(2)Every condition or requirement imposed to which this subsection relates and every amendment thereto or revocation thereof shall be imposed, amended or revoked as the Bank sees fit in the interest of the proper and orderly regulation of the payment system concerned and of competition between payment systems and every such condition or requirement may be imposed on either or both—

(a)that class of payment system, and

(b)the members of that payment system.

(3)In respect of any condition or requirement to which subsection (1) (b) relates, a condition or requirement shall not be imposed, amended or revoked until—

(a)the Bank has notified the operators or, when appropriate, the members of the payment system of its intention to so impose, amend or revoke, and

(b)the Bank has considered any representations made by the payment system or any member thereof within such time limit as the Bank may specify when notifying the payment system.

(4)The approval by the Bank of the rules of, or for, a payment system shall not constitute a warranty as to the solvency of that system or of any member of that system and the Bank shall not be liable, by reason of its approval, in respect of any losses incurred through the insolvency or default of that system or any of its members.

(5)An application for approval of the rules of an existing system or for a proposed system shall be in such form and contain such particulars as the Bank may from time to time determine.

(6)The Bank shall not approve of the rules of an existing system or a proposed system unless the existing system or proposed system is a company incorporated under the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990.

(7)The operator of an existing system or the promoter of a proposed system may appeal to the Court against the imposition of any condition or requirement within 21 days of the imposition thereof and the Court may, on hearing an appeal under this section, confirm, vary or rescind any condition or requirement under this section.

10. Refusal to approve of rules.

(2)Whenever the Bank proposes to refuse to approve of the rules of an existing system or for a proposed system—

(a)it shall notify the system or, in the case of a proposed system, the promoter of the system, in writing that it intends to seek the consent of the Minister to the proposed refusal and of its reasons for the refusal and that the system or the promoter may, within the period of 21 days after the date of the giving of the notification, make representations in writing to the Minister in relation to the proposed refusal,

(b)the operators of the system or the promoter may make such representations in writing to the Minister within the time aforesaid, and

(c)the Minister shall, before deciding to give or withhold his or her consent, consider any representations duly made to him or her under this subsection in relation to the proposed refusal.

F7[(3) In the performance of any function or duty by the Bank, or the exercise of any power by the Bank, required by or under the Treaty or the Statute,subsections (1)and(2)shall not apply.]

11. Application of section 17 of Act of 1971.

(a)every payment system to which this Part applies, and

(b)every member of that system,

who is not at the time of the commencement of this section the holder of a licence for the purpose of the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, and this Act, were the holder of such a licence.

12. Failure to comply with conditions or requirements.

(a)the payment system to cease such activities as the Bank may specify, and

(b)any or all of the members of the payment system to cease operating as a member or members of that system,

for a specified period or until further notice by the Bank.

(2) (a)The payment system to which, or member or members thereof to whom, a direction is given under subsection (1) may apply in a summary manner to the Court for, and the Court may grant, an order setting aside the direction.

(b)The Bank may apply in a summary manner to the Court to have a direction by it under this section confirmed by the Court.

(3)The Court when considering the matter may make such interim or interlocutory order as it considers appropriate.

(4)Where the Court is satisfied, because of the nature or the circumstances of the case or otherwise in the interests of justice that it is desirable, the whole or any part of proceedings under this section may be heard otherwise than in public.

13. Revocation of approval of rules of payment system.

(a)revoke an approval of the rules of a payment system if the system to which it was granted so requests,

(b)with the consent of the Minister, revoke an approval of the rules of a payment system, if—

(i)the system—

(I)has not commenced to operate within 12 months of the date on which the approval was granted, or

(II)has ceased operating for a period of more than one month,

(ii)the payment system being a company, the company is being wound up,

(iii)the payment system (being an existing system) or the promoter of a proposed system has obtained the approval of the Bank through false statements or any other irregular means,

(iv)the payment system becomes unable to meet its obligations to creditors or suspends payment lawfully due by the system or by any member thereof, or

(v)since the grant of the approval, the circumstances relevant to the grant have changed and are such that, if an application for an approval were made in the changed circumstances, it would be refused.

(2)Whenever the Bank proposes to revoke an approval (other than in pursuance of a request by the payment system to which it was granted to do so)—

(a)it shall notify the payment system concerned that it intends to seek the consent of the Minister to the revocation and of the reasons for that revocation and that the system may, within 21 days after the date of the giving of the notification, make representations in writing to the Minister in relation to the proposed revocation,

(b)the payment system may make such representations in writing to the Minister within the time aforesaid, and

(c)the Minister shall, before deciding to give or withhold his or her consent, consider any representations duly made to him or her under this subsection in relation to the proposed revocation.

F8[(2A) (a) In the performance of any function or duty by the Bank, or the exercise of any power by the Bank, required by or under the Treaty or the Statute,subsections (1)(b)and(2)shall not apply.

(b) In this subsection ‘the Treaty’ and ‘the Statute’ have the same meanings, respectively, as are assigned to them for the purposes of this Act bysubsection (2)(inserted by the Central Bank Act, 1998 ) ofsection 24.]

(3)Where an approval of the rules of a payment system is revoked and the system is not a company which is being wound up—