Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

46. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide the number of successful requests for data on beneficial ownership from the beneficial ownership registry made by the individuals or organisation outside the public or semi-State sectors, each year since 2016, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26349/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial and Provident Societies (RBO) was set up under the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 110 of 2019) and contains information regarding the beneficial ownership of entities registered under the Companies Act 2014; and societies, registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1893-2021. There are currently three levels of access to the RBO: unrestricted, restricted and legitimate interest.

Access to such beneficial ownership information is available on an unrestricted basis to competent authorities (including a member of An Garda Síochána, an officer of the Minister for Justice and Equality, a member or member of staff of the Property Services Regulatory Authority, the Law Society of Ireland, the General Council of the Bar of Ireland and designated accountancy bodies).

Restricted access is currently available to designated persons who are required to identify and verify customers and beneficial ownership prior to forming a business relationship or carrying out an occasional transaction (including credit institutions, financial institutions, auditors, external accountants’ property service providers, casinos). Designated persons may access certain personal information about beneficial owners (name, nationality and country of residence of each beneficial owner of the entity) and a statement of the interest held, or the control exercised by each beneficial owner. A designated person must complete a Declaration Form indicating the basis on which they qualify as a designated person to search the register. The RBO then creates an account which the designated person can use to search the register.

Restricted access was previously also available to the general public. However, to ensure compliance with a CJEU judgement (joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20) that a provision of the EU anti-money-laundering directive was invalid, the 2019 Regulations were amended to provide that restricted access may be provided to persons who can demonstrate a "legitimate interest". In summary, a person must justify access to the RBO by demonstrating that the requester is engaged in the prevention, detection or investigation of money laundering and/or terrorist financing offences. In addition, the person must demonstrate that the entity which is the subject of the access request is connected with persons convicted (whether in the State or elsewhere) of an offence consisting of money laundering or terrorist financing, or that the entity holds assets in a high-risk third country.

The table below provides the number of beneficial ownership reports provided by the RBO to persons with restricted access:

The RBO received only one request by a person with a legitimate interest in 2024 and this was refused as the person did not meet the criteria provided for in the Regulations.