Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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271. To ask the Minister for Finance to provide details of any interactions his Department or other Departments have had, and any legal advice that they have sought, to end the facilitation of the sale of Israeli war bonds by the Central Bank; the means by which this was ended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47597/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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On the morning of 01 September 2025 I received a letter from the Governor of the Central Bank informing me that the Central Bank's approval of the 2024 Prospectus had expired. The letter further informed me that the competent authority of Luxembourg, the "CSSF", had approved a new prospectus for the State of Israel. As a result there are no current active bond prospectuses approved by the Central Bank of Ireland, for the State of Israel. Similar correspondence was also sent by the Governor to the Chair of the Joint Committee on The Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach.

The EU Prospectus Regulation provides for the transfer of the approval of a prospectus to the competent authority of another EU Member State, however the Central Bank of Ireland cannot comment on individual supervisory engagements owing to its professional secrecy obligations.

Furthermore, the Central Bank, as the financial regulator, is independent in its functions from the Government as is necessary in any well-functioning democracy. The Central Bank performed a regulatory function which was limited to ensuring that the disclosure document for the offer of securities contained all the necessary information required by the EU Prospectus Regulation, this function will now be carried out by the competent authority in Luxembourg in relation to the 2025 Prospectus.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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272. To ask the Minister for Finance to provide a timeline and financial details of the facilitation of the sale of Israeli war bonds by the Central Bank; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47598/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may or may not be aware, the EU Prospectus Regulation specifies that a prospectus must be drawn up, approved and published when securities are to be offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market in the EU. The Central Bank is the national competent authority (NCA) for Ireland in this case and this question would be under their remit as the State's financial regulator.

My officials have consulted with the Central Bank, and they have indicated by way of response that they have comprehensively outlined the relevant details of the approval of the bond prospectuses of the State of Israel in letters to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach including those sent in December 2024 and July 2025.

I have included extracts from their responses to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach below for your convenience.

Timeline

The first Israeli bond programme was approved on 4 January 2021.... The Central Bank approved updates to this programme on 1 September 2021, 1 September 2022, 1 September 2023 and 2 September 2024. The Central Bank approved prospectus supplements to the programme on 26 February 2024 and 7 June 2024.

Financial Details

.Could the Central Bank provide a source on the value of Israeli War Bonds that have been sold since October 7th? (query received post meeting)

The figures provided are aggregated estimates based on final amount filings to the Central Bank by the issuer and converted by the Central Bank into Euro on the basis of currency conversion rates in May and June 2025. The Central Bank currently has filings up to 15 April, filings are made on an ongoing basis as soon as practicable following the closing of further offer periods. The estimated value raised from the Final Terms (dated 1 September 2024 to 15 April 2025) is €129,246,090. The value raised from the preceding Final Terms (dated 1 October 2023 to 15 August 2024) is estimated to be €288,495,197. Thus the total value for the period 1 October 2023 to 15 April 2025 is estimated to be €417,741,287. Please note – the Central Bank has not separately verified or audited this information.

Query related to the fee, if any, received by the Central Bank in respect of evaluating Israeli prospectuses (p.20)

The figure for the period from 1 October 2023 to 25 June 2025 is €13,350.This total figure relates to three documents (two supplements and one base prospectus - €11,000) approved by, and 47 final terms filed (€2,350) with, the Central Bank of Ireland pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/1129. Approval and final terms filing fees are set out in the S.I No.135 of 2022 – Central Bank Act 1942 (Section 32E) Prospectus and Related Documents Fee Regulations 2022.

Finally, I believe that It is important to clarify that, the Central Bank did not sell, regulate or oversee the sale of Israeli bonds nor were they for sale on the Irish Stock Exchange. The Central Bank as the competent authority under the Prospectus Regulation is required to assess prospectus documentation on the grounds of completeness, consistency and comprehensibility. The Central Bank, in carrying out its regulatory function, as required under EU law, does not endorse the issuer or the securities by way of prospectus approval. The Central Bank can only refuse the approval of a prospectus where it has a legal basis to do so, and where documentation meets the standards of the Regulation, the Central Bank is required to approve a prospectus.