Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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308. To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 348 of 14 October 2025, if any loan sharks rather than fraud cases have been reported to the Central Bank of Ireland since the enactment of the Consumer Credit (Amendment) Act 2022, in June 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57148/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the Central Bank of Ireland’s Consumer Protection Code, all financial services firms which are regulated must have a complaint handling procedure in place. Complaints are dealt with by the firms themselves in the first instance.

While the number of complaints received by the Central Bank of Ireland in relation to high cost credit providers is not publicly available, I am informed that since June 2022, its Unauthorised Providers Unit has received three separate complaints concerning two individuals whom the complainants specifically referred to as loan sharks.

It should be noted the term loan shark is not generally used in reporting data and that the Central Bank of Ireland understands the term to typically refer to the practice of illegal lending. Illegal lenders are distinct from high cost credit providers which are authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland. High cost credit providers were previously known as moneylenders and held a moneylender’s licence. The change of name was introduced following the enactment of Consumer Credit (Amendment) Act 2022.