Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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219. To ask the Minister for Finance the regulations in place with regard to a crowdfunding platform (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39928/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Crowdfunding is a way to raise funds for a specific cause or project by asking a large number of people to provide money, usually in small amounts, and usually during a relatively short period of time, such as a few months. It can be used by SMEs as an alternative way to finance their business and also by ordinary people and charities to raise money for causes, where the money is donated. Crowdfunding is not currently a regulated activity in Ireland.

A new EU Regulation on European crowdfunding service providers for business aims to deliver a uniform framework for crowdfunding service providers and introduce a straightforward passporting regime across the EU. The Regulation was published on 10 November 2020 and it will come into force a year after publication.

The Regulations apply to European Crowdfunding Service Providers financing projects up to a value of €5,000,000 per project (calculated over a 12 month period). Reward and donation based crowdfunding operations fall outside of the scope of the Regulation which covers lending and investment based crowdfunding.

Authorised Crowdfunding Service Platforms will be subject to ongoing supervision by the Central Bank and will need to provide an annual report of their work to the Central Bank. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will maintain a public register of all authorised CSPs.

Go Fund Me is a US based crowdfunding platform, used for raising charitable donations and as such, it will not fall within the scope of the EU regulation on European crowdfunding service providers.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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220. To ask the Minister for Finance the status of EU Regulation 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector; if it has been transposed into law; if so, the legislation under which; if not, the legislative and other plans to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39943/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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EU Regulation 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial sector (the “Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation” or “SFDR”) came into force in December 2019. It was subsequently amended by the Regulation on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (the “EU Taxonomy Regulation”). The Disclosures Regulation will apply generally from 10 March 2021, with certain obligations taking effect later.

This new regulation introduces additional disclosure requirements to the existing elements of relevant sectoral legislation. As a regulation, it will have direct effect and become part of national law from the date that it applies.

The European Commission recently announced that it will delay the imposition of the underlying technical standards for the regulation, however the rules will still come into force in March, and financial market participants and financial advisers subject to the Regulation will need to comply with its high level and principle based requirements from that time.