Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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122. To ask the Minister for Finance the work underway within his Department to strengthen obligations on regulated financial service providers to prevent and address actual or suspected financial abuse of at-risk adults; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39017/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland has a robust consumer protection framework in place to support consumers of financial services. Ireland is a signatory to the G20/OECD High-Level Principles of Financial Consumer Protection and in September 2023, my Department published a Roadmap on Financial Consumer Protection.

The Central Bank's Consumer Protection Code is a cornerstone of Ireland's consumer protection framework. Provision 3.1 of the Consumer Protection Code (Code) obliges firms to provide vulnerable consumers with such reasonable arrangements and/or assistance that may be necessary to facilitate him or her, in their dealings with the firm.

The Central Bank is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the Consumer Protection Code to ensure an updated and modernised Code is in place for consumers. This will be centred on firms securing customers’ interests as the key to delivering positive consumer outcomes.

The revised Code will include proposals on consumers in vulnerable circumstances, frauds and scams, and a definition of financial abuse.

In order to align with an updated recognition of vulnerability under the G20/OECD High-Level Principles of Financial Consumer Protection, the Central Bank is proposing to introduce a new definition of consumers in vulnerable circumstances. This new definition will recognise that vulnerability is not always a static, innate, or permanent characteristic of any person.

Any circumstance (whether an innate characteristic or temporary condition or life event) that makes a person more prone to suffer poor outcomes, if financial services firms do not act with the appropriate degree of care, makes that person vulnerable to poor outcomes. These conditions can arise through health, life events, and lack of capability or financial hardship.

Firms will be subject to the overarching duty to secure the interests of their customers, including consumers in vulnerable circumstances. This means firms should strive to ensure consumers in vulnerable circumstances are not disadvantaged and do not experience less favourable outcomes.

Also in line with the G20/OECD Principles, the Central Bank is proposing to introduce a new standard for business for financial services firms in relation to financial abuse. Among other things, firms will be required to control and manage their affairs and systems to counter the risks to their customers of financial abuse, including by:

• putting reasonable systems and controls in place in the context of the provision of its financial services, to mitigate the risk to its customers of financial abuse; and
• appropriately monitoring financial abuse trends relevant to its customers.