Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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159. To ask the Minister for Finance the number and value of car finance arrangements known as personal contract plans entered into for each year since 2012; the role of the Central Bank in terms of the regulation of these financial products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39531/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Personal Contract Plans are in effect a type of hire-purchase agreement and my Department does not collate statistics on the number and value of such plans that are entered into.

The Consumer Credit Act, 1995, applies to the provision of hire-purchase agreements. Both the Central Bank and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) have certain functions and legal powers in relation to the regulation of hire-purchase agreements.

While hire-purchase providers are not required to be authorised by the Central Bank, they are subject to a number of legislative and regulatory requirements supervised by the Central Bank and listed in Schedule 2 to the Central Bank Act 1942. In addition, to the extent that an entity is a 'regulated financial service provider', the powers in the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 and the administrative sanctions procedure will apply.

If the Central Bank has a concern in relation to the form and content of hire-purchase agreements, it can, after obtaining the consent of the Minister for Finance, make regulations in respect of the form and content of hire-purchase agreements under Section 60 of the Consumer Credit Act, 1995. Section 28 of the 1995 Act also allows the Central Bank to make regulations amending the relevant sections of the Act covering the form and/or content of advertisements. Furthermore, the Central Bank has a power under the Consumer Credit Act, 1995, to apply to the courts to require a person to cease breaching the CCA.

Any intermediary who is arranging credit for a consumer is acting as a credit intermediary and an intermediary arranging such credit must seek authorisation from the CCPC to act as a credit intermediary.

A list of authorised credit intermediaries is available on the CCPC website.