Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Finance the regulations that apply under the Finance Acts or are operated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority regarding the setting up of bank accounts by persons who are unable to provide a utility bill, as gas and electricity bills are paid by the landlords and then apportioned to the individual tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5273/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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There is nothing in tax law requiring the use of a utility bill to set up a bank account. The Deputy may have in mind the requirements of the EU Savings Directive. As the Deputy will be aware, the Savings Directive (which was transposed into Irish law as sections 898B to 898R of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997) provides for most EU Member States to exchange information on the cross border payment of interest to individuals resident in another Member State.

In order to comply with the Directive, paying agents (including banks) in EU member states report to their home state details of all payments of interest made to or secured for beneficial owners who are resident in another member state. In order to identify whether or not an individual is reportable, the paying agent must establish the identity and residence of any individual who opens an account on or after 1 January 2004. In doing this, it may be that a bank would seek sight of a utility bill in order to establish the residence of the individual but there is no obligation on them to do so and there are a range of other options available to establish such details.

Section 32 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 requires financial institutions to take reasonable measures to identify their customers. Recommended procedures for the implementation of this provision are set out in Guidance Notes issued under the aegis of the Money Laundering Steering Committee which is chaired by the Department of Finance and includes representatives of financial services industry bodies and the regulatory authorities and State Agencies, including the Garda Síochána. The full text of the Money Laundering Guidance Notes for Credit Institutions is available on the Department of Finance website: http://www.finance.gov.ie/ Publications/otherpubs/monlaun.htm.

Identification of a customer comprises two elements. These are name verification (typically evidenced by photograph bearing document such as passport, driving licence or other reputable source document) and address verification. Paragraph 45 of the Guidance Notes provides for those persons who cannot reasonably be expected to produce certain forms of identification, such as a passport or driving licence and/or whose name and Irish address does not appear on a utility bill, electoral register or directory.

The alternative methods of address verification set out in the Guidance Notes include:

Letter/statement from a licensed employment agency that the person has recently arrived in Ireland and is commencing employment or from an employer that the person has commenced employment and in each case stating that the person is not in a position to produce a utility bill or other document which shows an Irish address. In addition, in such cases the prospective customer should be required to submit follow-up documentation (e.g. utility bill) confirming Irish address in due course.

Letter/statement from a person in a position of responsibility (e.g. a solicitor, accountant, doctor, minister of religion, teacher, social worker, community employment scheme supervisor) who is in a position to confirm the person's address to the credit institution. In such instances the person providing the letter/statement must present themselves to the relevant credit institution providing proof of their own identity and verifying their status to the credit institution.

Documentation/cards issued by a Government Department showing the address of the person.

Normally difficulties arising at account opening are resolved by an approach from the prospective customer to the branch management or to the bank's customer service department. I should stress that it is a matter for each institution to ensure that its procedures satisfy the legal requirement under the Criminal Justice Act 1994 that financial institutions take reasonable measures to identify their customers. The Financial Regulator has also included in its Consumer Protection Code a requirement that any measures adopted in relation to identification of customers should not deny a person access to financial services solely on the grounds that they do not possess certain specified identification documentation.