Results 33,001-33,020 of 34,956 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: The amendment seeks to remove one element of the segregated nature of sub-funds. If accepted, it would adversely affect the segregation of liability between the sub-funds that this legislation seeks to establish. It would result in inconsistency between other investment funds' legal structures which are currently available in Ireland and it would expose investors to the risk of...

Data Protection Act 2018 (section 60(6)) (Central Bank of Ireland) Regulations 2020: Motion (3 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Data Protection Act 2018 (section 60(6))(Central Bank of Ireland) Regulations 2020, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 28th October, 2020. I bring this motion before the House today to seek a resolution to agree the draft Data Protection Act 2018 (section 60(6)(Central...

Data Protection Act 2018 (section 60(6)) (Central Bank of Ireland) Regulations 2020: Motion (3 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I will respond to a couple of the points made. To provide some information, since the 2019 regulations were made, the Central Bank has received 28 subject rights requests. The regulations were applied in five of these responses. In only one case were the regulations invoked to withhold the entirety of the data request. This was a focused request for three or four specific documents and...

Data Protection Act 2018 (section 60(6)) (Central Bank of Ireland) Regulations 2020: Motion (3 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I accept the Deputy's point. These draft regulations allow the Central Bank to use that exemption. Most importantly, they also contain safeguards to ensure the banks apply the restrictions only where necessary and proportionate to the need to safeguard specified important objectives of the general public interest pursued by the Central Bank. This has been accepted by all sides of the...

Finance Bill 2020: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Deputies who contributed to the debate. I will respond, inasmuch as I can, in the short time available. I will make one overall point, which is that one must bear in mind that we are responding to the Covid-19 crisis, the threat of Brexit and the longer-term but not any less urgent issue of climate change and the Finance Bill must necessarily take account of all of these...

Seanad: Data Protection Regulations: Motion (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I bring the motion to the House to seek a resolution to agree the draft Data Protection Act 2018 section 60(6) (Central Bank of Ireland) Regulations 2020, as provided for under section 6(5)(a) of the Data Protection Act 2018. Senators will have gathered from the gist of this that it is a technical matter. I have a detailed script but perhaps the best thing I can do is to explain what this...

Seanad: Data Protection Regulations: Motion (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I welcome this opportunity and appreciate all the comments that have been made. As people noted, many of the comments were not specific to this statutory instrument. Data breaches in financial institutions are one big issue that has been mentioned here on a few occasions. Some asked about the resourcing of the Data Protection Commission and whether it has sufficient resources to do the job...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: The amendment proposes a report on the Act. It is my intention, which I stated on Committee Stage, to lay a post-enactment scrutiny note 12 months after the enactment, in line with Standing Orders of the House. There will be a report, therefore. I am not in a position to prescribe what will be in that report before it is prepared but the gist of what is being said, and I referred to this...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: The normal process when legislation is going through the Houses is being applied. We are going through the deliberative process in respect of this Act and when that is completed the lobbying documents can be sought. All the documents in relation to lobbying on the Finance Bill and the budget, for example, can be made available in due course but not before they have been fully considered....

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I hope I can allay the Senator's concerns on the issue. I understand her points. The legislation as drafted is remarkably strong and perhaps, inadvertently, the amendments would substantially weaken the beneficial owner framework and prevent full transparency in the beneficial ownership register. These amendments would allow an incorporated company to enter a date of incorporation or a...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: Once they control 25%.

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: That is correct.

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Senator. While I understand the points she has made, we are concerned, to some extent, with money laundering and, possibly, some other areas. The definition of beneficial ownership in this Bill aligns with the definition in the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010. The specific definition of "beneficial owner" in the 2010 Act is a person who: ...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: I acknowledge the purpose of the Senator's amendment but the matter is well and truly dealt with and the position is clear. The Central Bank of Ireland is the body that will determine the position where a PPS number is not available and it will require a relevant identifier to its satisfaction. The normal procedure in place requires not just a passport number but actual copies of the...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: We have come to the kernel of what this legislation is about. To use a phrase that is well known to most people, this legislation does what it says on the tin. The legislation is called the Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020 and the essence of it is to give limited liability to limited partners. If we were to in some way take away a limited liability from a limited...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: As discussed on earlier Stages, the 1994 Act permitting a limited partner to participate on the board and committees related to an investment limited partnership. Section 7 of the 1994 Act allows that. This adds board participation to the white list of activities that can be undertaken by a limited partner and that will not be deemed as taking part in the conduct of the business and that...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: Investment funds are established for the purpose of investing the pooled funds of investors in assets in accordance with the investment objectives and policies published in the proposed prospectus. A fund is established for a particular purpose and the objectives of that fund are set out in the prospectus. People in normal society are then free to invest in that fund. In the context of...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: These amendments relate to the manner in which a majority of the limited partnership shall be calculated by reference to the value of their contributions made to them, at the time being, in the investment limited partnership. The structure of the investment limited partnership is not based on one partner, one vote. It is based on their contribution to the partnership as outlined in the...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: Yes, if such a person controls 25% of the vote in the limited partner. I am not talking about the general partner who runs the whole business but the limited partner. Yes, he or she is a beneficial owner but it does not give him or her control of the general partnership that is solely in the hands of the general partner because such people have limited control, they are limited partners...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (6 Nov 2020)

Seán Fleming: The only point of clarification is, the voting strength of all the people is determined in the original partnership agreement. That is where it is determined. People can have a majority of shares but the partnership agreement is the one that runs the partnership and they appoint the general partner to do the job on their behalf. So, the partnership agreement decides the voting strength and...