John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 113: To ask the Minister for Finance the way that persons who hold neither a passport nor a driving licence can prove their identity in order to open a bank account; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13482/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the Deputy's question relates to the obligation on financial institutions and others to identify their customers under Anti Money Laundering legislation. The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 requires customers to be identified on the basis of documents, including documents from a Government source, or information that a credit institution has reasonable grounds to believe can be relied upon to confirm the identity of the customer. As the Act does not prescribe specific documents, this requirement will be supplemented by guidelines which will give examples of the type of documents which may be accepted for identification purposes. The range of acceptable documents under the revised guidelines - which are being finalised at present - will be broader than under the existing guidelines.

Under existing arrangements, a credit institution may use one of the following methods, as an alternative to a passport/driving licence, to verify a person's name:

- Identification form with photograph signed by a member of An Garda Síochána or

- Documentation/cards issued by a Government Department showing the name of the person and

- a 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 identity to the credit institution. In such instances, the person providing the letter/statement must present himself/herself to the relevant credit institution providing proof of his/her own identity and verifying his/her status to the credit institution. In general, any measures adopted by credit institutions should not deny a person access to financial services solely on the grounds that the person does not possess certain specified identification documentation.