Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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67. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to increase the maximum cover of €20,000 as outlined in the investor compensation scheme to bring it in line with the financial services compensation scheme in the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2222/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Investor Compensation Directive (97/9/EC) sets out the basis for clients of investment firms to receive statutory compensation when an authorised investment firm fails. In Ireland, the Investor Compensation Act 1998 provides for the establishment of the Investor Compensation Company DAC (ICCL) which administers the Investor Compensation Scheme.

The Investor Compensation Scheme deals with investor compensation claims where an investment firm fails and is unable to repay monies owed or return money and financial instruments held in accordance with its legal obligations to eligible investors.

Compensation is paid from a central pool of funds collected through assessed contributions from authorised investment firms or licensed credit institutions based in Ireland.

The limit of compensation is set at 90% of the eligible investors net loss, which is dependent on any amounts recovered on behalf of clients by the administrator appointed to the failed firm, with a maximum payment of €20,000 permitted per eligible investor.

I would note that in the transposition of the Markets in Financial instruments Directive (S.I. 375 of 2017) Ireland exercised the Member State discretion that enabled us to "gold-plate" the client asset requirements as set out in the Directive. This means we have a client asset regime in Ireland that is over and above what is required at an European level.

The legislation applies extensive client asset and consumer protection rules to regulated investment firms. While certain entities (for example, intermediaries) are exempt from MiFID, they are still required to have analogous consumer protection rules as covered by the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code 2012. They are also subject to the same client asset requirements as MiFID authorised firms.

I have also been informed by the ICCL that the €20,000 maximum compensation limit currently in place has satisfied the claims of the majority of small investors in the compensation cases it has handled in recent years.

Due to the introduction of the new requirements for investment firms due to MiFID as outlined above in January of last year and the experience of ICCL with compensation claims over a number of years, at this point in time it is considered that the maximum payment threshold applicable in Ireland is adequate.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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68. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount paid out by the investor compensation scheme in each of the past ten years; the number of investors that have availed of compensation in each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2223/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Investor Compensation Directive (97/9/EC) sets out the basis for clients of investment firms to receive statutory compensation when an authorised investment firm fails. In Ireland, the Investor Compensation Act 1998 provides for the establishment of the Investor Compensation Company DAC (ICCL) which administers the Investor Compensation Scheme.

The Investor Compensation Scheme deals with investor compensation claims where an investment firm fails and is unable to repay monies owed or return money and financial instruments held in accordance with its legal obligations to eligible investors.

I have been informed by the ICCL that it can only provide detailed records for claims paid from 2012 onwards. Based on the information provided, the total value of claims paid and numbers of eligible investors are as follows: