Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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76. To ask the Minister for Finance the maximum interest rate that moneylenders can charge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39737/14]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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77. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to have his Department carry out an assessment of the impact on consumers of an industry wide interest rate cap; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39738/14]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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82. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on setting a maximum interest rate of 50% APR charged by moneylenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39746/14]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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83. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that 13 EU countries have a legal cap regarding the maximum rate of interest that moneylenders can charge; if there is a European directive in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39747/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 77, 82 and 83 together.

Moneylenders have to apply to the Central Bank on an annual basis to have their licences granted or renewed. Part VIII of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 (as amended) sets out the Central Bank's powers, duties and responsibilities in relation to the granting or refusal of a moneylender's licence and in relation to their regulation when such a licence is granted.

The Central Bank has advised me that there is a rigorous process involved in the granting or renewal of a licence. The Central Bank can refuse to grant a moneylender's licence on a number of grounds. One of these grounds is:

- where, in the Central Bank s opinion, the cost of credit to be charged is excessive, or where any of the terms and conditions attaching thereto are unfair.

Each application for a moneylending licence is individually assessed.

The Central Bank publishes a register of licensed moneylenders on its website.  This register includes the maximumAnnual Percentage Rate (APR) that each moneylender is authorised to charge. The maximum APR charged by a licensed moneylender has not increased since the Central Bank assumed responsibility for the licensing and regulation of moneylenders in 2003.  APRs on moneylending agreements range from 23% to a maximum of 188.45%, excluding collection charges. The highest APR including collection charge is 287.72%.  APRs vary significantly, depending on the duration of the loan.

Each licensed moneylender is also required to display a copy of its licence in its business premises.  The licence contains a schedule of each product which the moneylender is entitled to offer, together with details of the related cost per €100 borrowed, the collection charge (if applicable) and the APR. 

I appreciate that vulnerable consumers, sometimes as a last resort, are using licensed monelylenders and therefore, consumer protection is crucial. The Central Bank's authorisation regime and its Code of Conduct provide a significant degree of protection to these consumers. My Department is also significantly engaged with other consumer protection measures in the financial services area which include the proposed legislation to protect consumers on the sale of loan books, the transposition of both the Mortgage Credit Directive and the Payment Accounts Directive into Irish law as well as the implementation of the Credit Reporting Act 2013 and ongoing work in relation to mortgage arrears.

I note from the topical issues debate last week on the matter of moneylenders that the Deputy referred to the situation in other European countries where usury rules prevail. EU consumer credit legislation does not specify the rate of interest which a moneylender may charge although moneylenders are of course subject to the European Communities (Consumer Credit Agreements) Regulations 2010 (Statutory Instrument 281 of 2010) which transposed the Consumer Credit Directive. As was indicated last week, the setting of a cap on interest rates (sometimes used as a target, and not a cap) may not achieve the objective of lowering the total cost of credit and could result in excluding low income households from access to credit.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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78. To ask the Minister for Finance the sanctions applied by the Central Bank of Ireland on moneylenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39740/14]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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79. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide examples of the Central Bank of Ireland refusing to grant moneylender licences at annual renewal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39741/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 78 and 79 together.

Compliance with supervisory and legislative requirements is monitored by the Central Bank on an ongoing basis through a robust annual licensing process, advertising and market intelligence monitoring and themed and institution-specific inspections. Issues identified are addressed with the relevant firms.

The Central Bank has drawn my attention to two cases in which it reached settlement agreements with moneylenders. These are available in . In one case dated 10 July 2007, the moneylender was reprimanded and it ceased collecting repayments in respect of some credit agreements bought from an unauthorised credit provider. In the other case dated 18 September 2013, the Central Bank reprimanded the moneylender and required it to pay a monetary penalty of €8,000.

Firms considering applying for a moneylending licence will usually discuss their proposed application with the Central Bank with a view to identifying all legislative and supervisory requirements relating to such a licence. As a result of this interaction, a refusal of an application will not generally arise as perceived difficulties will usually result in the non-submission/withdrawal or modification of an application. The renewal process is similar and issues may be resolved without a formal refusal. The Bank has drawn my attention to a judgement of the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal ( IFSAT ) in May 2014 which upheld a decision of the Central Bank of Ireland (the Central Bank ) to revoke the moneylender's licence. This is available at

.