Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the purpose of his promised legislation on collective investment schemes; when he expects to publish this Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38351/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Since the establishment of the Irish Financial Services Centre in 1987, successive Ministers who have held the Company Law elements of my present portfolio have been responsible for the enactment of legislation relating to collective investment schemes used by the Investment Funds Industry, either as stand alone instruments or as part of more comprehensive Acts. Examples include the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Regulations 1989, Part 13 of the Companies Act 1990 and the Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Acts of 2005 and 2006.

Consistent with the work underway to consolidate all existing 15 Companies Acts, a project to undertake a similar exercise was discussed with representatives of the Funds Industry and the Financial Regulator. The intention was to have all of the relevant legislation in one place, and in the process to streamline the various elements which had been developed over many years comprising, for example, of an application for authorisation process to the competent authority – now the Central Bank- ongoing supervision relating, for example, to the making of appropriate returns as well as the ability of the competent authority to take remedial action where necessary, and so on.

Following these discussions, and given that the nature of collective investment schemes are essentially financial products, officials of my Department engaged with their counterparts in the Department of Finance with a view to the latter Department assuming responsibility for all legislation relating to these collective investment schemes. While agreement in principle for a transfer of responsibility has been reached, and has already resulted in the making by the Minister for Finance of the necessary Regulations transposing the latest EU UCITS Regulations in July of this year, further discussions are necessary to finalise the matter. In these circumstances, it is likely that further consideration of matters relating to the consolidation of legislation governing collective investment schemes will be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Finance.