Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which entered into force in May 2015, introduced the requirement for the establishment of a central register of beneficial ownership for corporates and other legal entities. The Register of Beneficial Ownership, RBO, to which corporates and friendly and provident societies now have to centrally file their beneficial ownership information, has been established in accordance with Article 30 of the fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, as amended by the fifth directive.

The requirements of Article 30, as they relate to corporates and friendly and provident societies, have been rolled out in two stages, precisely to allow time for small and medium enterprises to adjust to the new requirements. The first element, creating the initial obligation for companies to obtain and hold information on their beneficial ownership, was done via S.I. 560 of 2016. Consequently, companies have been in possession of much of the information required for central filing for some time and will have been aware of the requirement to eventually centrally file this information. The CRO, which oversees the RBO, kept companies updated via its newsletter and on its website on the progress of the central register and the central filing obligation. The second phase of the transposition, the establishment of a central register of beneficial ownership and the obligation to file beneficial ownership centrally to this register, was created by S.I. 110 of 2019, which entered into force on 22 March 2019. A registrar was subsequently appointed by my colleague, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The statutory instrument itself provided companies with five months in which to centrally file, creating the current filing deadline of 22 November.

I understand, however, from the Department of Business Enterprise and Innovation that while the register was due to go live on 22 June, this was delayed for technical reasons. The CRO began accepting filings on 29 July. Regarding progress on filing to date, the registrar indicated that as of yesterday morning, more than 32% of companies had already done so. I am sympathetic to the challenges being faced by small and medium enterprises in meeting their filing obligations. However, my options are limited given that there are less than four days to go until the filing deadline. Taking account of the approaching deadline and having regard to our legal obligations to deliver on the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Directives, I hope a practical approach will be taken by the registrar to slightly late filings to the RBO.

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