Ms Gráinne McEvoy:

The new regime proposes for the regulation of credit servicing firms and, as noted earlier by us and the Department of Finance, it is in the early stages. How the final regime will look and what shape it will take is anybody's guess as it is a couple of years down the line. The proposal is for a definition of a credit servicing firm, for the harmonisation of the authorisation supervision and for imposing conduct rules on credit servicing firms across the EU. Some member states have a regime for that activity but others do not. This directive would impose a level playing field across the board.

The proposals as currently outlined are not terribly dissimilar to the existing regime under the 2015 Act, where we already have a framework in place for authorising and supervising these firms in Ireland. Once the directive becomes final and fit for national transposition we will undertake a mapping exercise to see what is contained in the directive, how it differs from our current domestic regime and how that domestic regime will need to change or otherwise to address the provisions of the EU directive.

As noted earlier, the European Union directive would be superior and trump domestic legislation in that context. The directive, as currently drafted, does not provide for the regulation of credit purchasers. That addresses the Senator's question as regards the regulation of loan funds. It is not currently captured under the directive.