Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

120. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to remove the six year rule on financial complaints; if this removal will be retrospective in nature; if so, the way this will be achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7573/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The current legislation (section 57BX (3)(b) of the Central Bank 1942 Act) prohibits the Financial Services Ombudsman from examining any aspect of a complaint where the conduct being complained of occurred more than six years from receipt of the complaint in his Office. 

The Heads of Bill to amalgamate the Financial Services Ombudsman and Pensions Ombudsman were published on the Department's website on 5 October of 2016. These heads provided for an amendment to the time limit in which complaints can be made to the Ombudsman.

As outlined at the pre-legislative scrutiny session on 27 October of 2016, I propose to extend the time limits for complaints in relation to certain long-term financial services to the same time limit that currently applies to pension products, namely 

- six years from date of the conduct complained of or

- three years from the date the complainant knew/ought to have known about the conduct.

This greatly improves access to the Ombudsman for consumers of long-term financial services, who may not become aware of an issue, until well after the original six years time limit had passed.

For short-term financial services, the time limit for complaints to the Ombudsman is unchanged at six years from the date of the conduct complained of.

The question of the commencement date for  new time limits is being considered carefully by the Department in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General 

The Heads of the Bill, as published on the Department's website on 5 October of 2016, do not provide for any commencement date of the legislation as yet. The appropriate commencement date for particular provisions, such as the new time limit for complaints to the Ombudsman, is being considered in the course of the drafting and legislative process. This issue of the commencement date involves a range of considerations including: the interface with the statute of limitations; existing consumer protection laws; complaints mechanisms; and availability of records. In addition, the report from the pre-legislative scrutiny on the draft legislation, including the proposed extension of time limits, is currently awaited.

Officials in the Office of the  Parliamentary Counsel are drafting the text of the Bill in close consultation with the officials from the Department, the Office of the Attorney General, and other stakeholders. It is hoped that the Bill will be published in the coming months.