Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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122. To ask the Minister for Finance the status of his engagements to date with the Central Bank and-or the regulator regarding personal contract plans for car finance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27857/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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PCPs – or Personal Contract Plans - are a type of hire purchase financing agreement used for the purchase of motor vehicles.  It is normally comprises three parts:-

- an up-front deposit payment;

- ongoing monthly payments for an agreed period of time;

- a final balloon payment at the end of the contract term.  

Both the Central Bank and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) have certain functions in relation to hire purchase agreements; the Bank has an overall role in relation to the operation of such agreements and the CCPC has a role in relation to the authorisation of 'credit intermediaries' through which many such agreements are provided to consumers.

The CCPC and the Central Bank have also recently produced papers on the PCP market in Ireland.  These show that PCP finance has grown in recent years and it is becoming an increasingly important source of finance for the purchase of new cars.  While the availability of such credit is important for the finance and motor industries, it is also important that the level of information and protections available to consumers in relation to such products continues to be robust.  To that end, I have arranged for Mr. Michael Tutty, a former Regulator and Second Secretary in the Department of Finance, to carry out an independent review of the current PCP market and regulatory structure to see if there are any particular consumer protection gaps which may need to be addressed.  As part of his work Mr. Tutty will consult the two relevant regulatory bodies and I look forward to receiving his report later this summer.