Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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57. To ask the Minister for Finance the total funds available to the Central Bank of Ireland in its deposit guarantee scheme to compensate potential claims by depositors of failed banks. [51330/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Act 2009 provides for the operation of the Deposit Protection Account (DPA). Credit Institutions are required to maintain a balance in the DPA equivalent to 0.2% of their total deposits (subject to a minimum of €50,000 for each bank or building society). The Central Bank of Ireland is responsible for the operation of the Deposit Protection (Guarantee) Scheme (DGS). I am advised by the Central Bank that the current balance in the DPA is €369 million.In the event of a credit institution being unable to repay deposits, the Central Bank is authorized to make compensation payments to eligible depositors to a maximum of €100,000 per eligible depositor per institution. The cost of compensation payments is charged against the balance in the DPA.

In the event that the cost of compensation exceeds the balances in the DPA, the 2009 Act provides for the Central Bank to be reimbursed from the Central Fund within 3 months, subject to the approval of the Minister for Finance. Subsequently, credit institutions would be required to replenish the DPA and to repay the Minister for amounts advanced to cover the immediate cost of compensation. The Minister is authorized to specify the period for repayments and the interest rate chargeable.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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58. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will detail when the capital requirements directive IV will be transposed into Irish law; if he will detail if in the transposition of this directive into Irish law there is scope for credit unions not to be reclassified as non banking financial institutions under the directive or the capital requirements regulation; his views that credit unions here should have their deposits classified as retail deposits in banks as has always been the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51336/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The CRD IV legislative package is made up of the Capital Requirements Directive - 2013/36/EU and the Capital Requirements Regulation 575/2013. The Capital Requirements Directive will be transposed into Irish law by 31 December 2013. The Capital Requirements Regulation is directly effective in Irish law and will come into force on 1 January 2014. CRD IV is the EU implementation of the agreements reached by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (i.e. the Basel III requirements), which have been endorsed by the G20 leaders. Credit unions are excluded from the scope of the CRD IV legislation in accordance with Article 2(5)(8) of Directive 2013/36/EU.

Credit union deposits held at credit institutions do not meet the definition of retail deposits as outlined in Article 411 (2) of Regulation 575/20131. As the Directive and Regulation were agreed and published in the Official Journal of the EU earlier this year, the classification of credit union deposits in this regulation cannot be reviewed at this stage.

Footnote:

1. Article 411 (2) of Regulation 575/2013 - (2) 'retail deposit' means a liability to a natural person or to an SME, where the natural person or the SME would qualify for the retail exposure class under the Standardised or IRB approaches for credit risk, or a liability to a company which is eligible for the treatment set out in Article 153(4) and where the aggregate deposits by all such enterprises on a group basis do not exceed EUR 1 million.