Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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369. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of ML10 forms for persons who wish to open a bank account in circumstances in which they do not have a driving licence or passport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46620/22]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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370. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the number of members of An Garda Síochána who are willing to sign an ML10 form has dramatically declined (details supplied); if she plans to reform the way in which members of An Garda Síochána verify the identification of persons who do not currently possess or cannot obtain a driving licence, a passport, or a public services card or for persons who have no other obvious forms of identification; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46623/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 369 and 370 together.

I can advise the Deputy that, the ML10 form was rescinded by An Garda Síochána on 5 August. The forms had originally been introduced to support provisions under Section 32 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994 which were repealed when the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 was introduced. The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) formed the view that there was insufficient legal basis to support continued use of the forms.

I am advised that the Financial Intelligence Unit engaged on plans to rescind the ML10 with the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland and engaged separately with the Irish League of Credit Unions, Credit Union Development Association, Credit Union Managers Association and PAYAC.

The Deputy may be aware that the 2010 Act does not specify the types of documentation to be used by designated businesses (either financial or non-financial) for customer due diligence purposes.

The Central Bank of Ireland has issued Anti-Money Laundering guidelines which are available on their website – www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/regulation/amld-/guidance/anti-money-laundering-and-countering-the-financing-of-terrorism-guidelines-for-the-financial-sector.pdf?sfvrsn=9

The Central Bank is the competent authority responsible for supervising financial institutions under the 2010 Act.

The Central Bank has not included prescriptive / definitive examples of documentation that it considers would satisfy customer identification and verification requirements. It says that firms, in applying a risk-based approach, should maintain their own lists of documents, which they will accept, in satisfaction of this obligation and in accordance with relevant Sections 33 to 39 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 that set out obligations on customer due diligence.

Firms that are subject to regulation for money laundering purposes should set out in their written policies and procedures (which each designated business must have under section 54 of the Act) the documents and information which they are willing to accept and the circumstances under which they are willing to accept them in order to identify and verify the identity of their customer in circumstances where due diligence purposes must be carried out. Firms should retain records evidencing identity in either paper or electronic format. It is a matter for designated businesses to set out their policies and procedures in relation to identification and verification of their customers and to satisfy their supervisory body as to the adequacy of the arrangements.

The Banking Payments Federation of Ireland also publish guidance on documents that may be acceptable for the purposes of identification and verification in the context of customer due diligence. The guidance is available on their website - bpfi.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Final-BPFI-Guide-to-Opening-Bank-Accounts-in-Ireland-for-Protection-Applicants-Final.pdf

This guidance indicates that while passport and EU or Irish driving licence are accepted as standard forms of proof of identity, a bank will accept alternative documents as proof of identity, if the applicant does not have either a passport or a driving licence. These include, for example: Irish Residence Permit; Temporary Residence Certificate or Irish Government Travel Document (UN Issued.)

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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372. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to recent media, TV recordings of arrangement and incitement proceedings has clearly identified investigating Gardaí in numerous minutes of television and on-screen video coverage, while at the same time, defendants are allowed to cover their faces (details supplied). [46655/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána.

I greatly value the role of the media in providing objective reporting, and that in my experience, the media are professional in how they undertake their duties.

We are all immensely grateful to members of An Garda Síochána for their outstanding dedication and commitment to serving the public and for the important role that they play in our society. I condemn, in the strongest possible way, any attacks, threats or intimidation of the men and women serving in An Garda Síochána and indeed other frontline services.

While the criminal law in this area is being kept under ongoing review, there are a range of robust legislative provisions available to the Garda authorities in circumstances where threats or assaults are made against Gardaí.‎

The Deputy may also be interested to know that the identity of a person convicted of a crime is protected in certain circumstances, for example, in the case of rape where the identification of the perpetrator would lead to the identification of the victim.