Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will address a matter (details supplied) in relation to a refusal to accept a direct debit from a bank. [56796/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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On 1 August 2014, the Single European Payment Area (SEPA) Regulation came into effect for all payment service providers (PSPs) and payment service users (PSUs) in the EU. Under the SEPA Regulation, it is illegal for PSPs and PSUs to refuse to accept any SEPA International Bank Account Number (IBAN) when making or receiving payments. The legislation governing these matters is contained in EU Regulation 260/2012 (the 'SEPA Regulation') and Statutory Instrument No. 132 of 2013 (‘the Irish SEPA Regulations’), which gave effect to the SEPA Regulation in Ireland.

In Ireland, there are two National Competent Authorities (NCA) for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the SEPA Regulation and the Irish SEPA Regulations. The Central Bank of Ireland is the NCA in the State except in cases involving consumers and traders (such as a utility provider), the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the competent authority.

It should be noted that the case outlined in this question falls under the remit of the CCPC.

However, the Central Bank has confirmed that the outright refusal to accept a SEPA IBAN for the purposes of establishing a direct debit in the EU is prohibited by Article 9(2) of the SEPA Regulation, which provides:

“A payee accepting a credit transfer or using a direct debit to collect funds from a payer holding a payment account located within the Union shall not specify the Member State in which that payment account is to be located, provided that the payment account is reachable in accordance with Article 3.”

The Central Bank takes the practice of IBAN discrimination very seriously as it undermines the objectives of the SEPA initiative by creating barriers to the smooth functioning of payments processing in the EU, which we believe can cause consumer detriment. Within its scope of competence, the Central Bank is responsible for monitoring compliance with the SEPA Regulation and taking all necessary measures to ensure compliance.

The Central Bank actively investigates and responds to all SEPA complaints that are directly reported to it, and which fall under its remit. Complaints can be made directly to the Central Bank’s Public Contacts Unit by email at enquiries@centralbank.ie, or by telephone on either 0818 681 681 or +353 (1) 224 5800.

Cases should as this involving consumers and traders should be reported to the CCPC on Lo-call 01 402 5555.