STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

S.I. No. 190 of 2005

CENTRAL BANK ACT 1942 (Financial Services Ombudsman Council) Regulations 2005.

S.I. No. 190 of 2005 .

CENTRAL BANK ACT 1942 (Financial Services Ombudsman Council) Regulations 2005.

I, Dr Con Power, Chairperson of the Financial Services Ombudsman Council, in exercise of the powers conferred on the Council by Section 57BF of Section 16 of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004 ( No 21 of 2004 )) and as authorised by the Council, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby make the following regulations.

Citation and commencement.

1.   (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Central Bank Act 1942 (Financial Services Ombudsman Council) Regulations 2005.

(2) These regulations come into effect on April 1^st 2005.

Extension of definition of “consumer” for the purpose of Section 57BA

2.   The following classes of persons are prescribed by Council as consumers for the purposes of subsection (b) of the definition of “consumer’ in Section 57BA of the Central Bank Act 1942 (as amended by Section 16 of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority Act of Ireland Act 2004).

a.   A person or group of persons, but not an incorporated body with an annual turnover in excess of 3 million euro. For the avoidance of doubt a group of persons includes partnerships and other unincorporated bodies such as clubs, charities and trusts, not consisting entirely of bodies corporate, and

b.   incorporated bodies having an annual turnover of 3 million euro or less in the financial year prior to year in which the complaint is made to the Ombudsman (provided that such body shall not be a member of a group of companies having a combined turnover greater than the said 3 million euro).

Prescription of a maximum compensation amount for the purposes of Section 57CI(5) and Section 57CI(4)(d).

3.   (a) The amount of 26,000 euro per annum is prescribed by Council as the maximum amount of compensation payable where the financial service the subject of a complaint is an annuity for the purposes of Section 57CI(5) and Section 57CI(4)(d) of the Central Bank Act 1942 (as amended by Section 16 of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority Act of Ireland Act 2004).

(b) The amount of 250,000 euro is prescribed by Council as the maximum amount of compensation payable in respect of all other complaints for the purposes of Section 57CI(5) and Section 57CI(4)(d) of the Central Bank Act 1942 (as amended by Section 16 of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority Act of Ireland Act 2004).

Regulations for the purposes of Section 57BF.

4.    The Financial Services Ombudsman shall have regard to the existing Terms of Reference of The Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland for complaints regarding insurance matters and the existing Terms of Reference of The Ombudsman for the Credit Institutions for complaints regarding banking and building society matters, to the extent that these have not been superseded by PART VIIB of the Central Bank Act 1942 (as amended by Section 16 of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority Act of Ireland Act 2004) or by these Regulations.

5.   In the event of a conflict between any Terms of Reference and the Act, the Act prevails.

6.   In the event of a conflict between any Terms of Reference and these Regulations, these Regulations prevail.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of these Regulations and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

The purpose of these regulations is:

a) to expand the definition of “consumer” to include all unincorporated bodies (including partnerships, trusts, charities, clubs etc) and to include limited companies with an annual turnover of 3 million euro or less (SMEs),

b) to prescribe maximum limits on the awards the Ombudsman may make in respect of complaints generally and complaints in respect of annuities, and

c) to retain the existing Terms of Reference of the former voluntary schemes pending the drawing up of comprehensive Terms of Reference save that where a conflict arises between the Act or the Regulations and the Terms of Reference, the Act and the Regulations will prevail.