698. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of reforming the Asset Covered Securities framework on the competitiveness of Ireland’s banking sector, the ability of new entrants to access the Irish covered bond market and the availability and cost of mortgage credit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.' [61256/26]

699. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether the proposed Asset Covered Securities (Amendment) Bill 2026 will provide for a move from the current specialist banking model for the issuance of covered bonds to a universal banking model; the assessment his Department has made of the benefits and risks of such a change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61255/26]

700. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the current status of the proposed Asset Covered Securities (Amendment) Bill 2026; the timeframe for publication of the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61254/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 698 to 700, inclusive, together.

The Government approved the drafting of the Asset Covered Securities (Amendment) Bill on 9 June 2026, and the General Scheme of the bill has been published. The main purpose of the bill is to update the legislation governing the issuing of asset covered securities (covered bonds) in Ireland.

The legislation will provide for a universal banking model as an alternative to the current specialist banking model. This will allow banks to issue asset covered securities without the need, as at present, to establish and maintain a specialist subsidiary for that purpose. This will simplify the framework and reduce costs, while retaining the robust protection provided by the existing legislation.

One of the features of the original 2001 legislation was that it followed a “specialist banking model”, meaning that asset covered securities (ACS) could only be issued by a bank specialising in that particular activity. What this meant, in practice, was that a bank wishing to issue ACS had to set up a specialist subsidiary in order to do so.

In the years since 2001, many European jurisdictions have moved away from the specialist banking model and have adopted instead a “universal banking model”, under which a mainstream bank can issue covered bonds directly, without the need for a specialist subsidiary.

The existing specialist banking model entails upfront and ongoing costs, as well as being structurally inefficient in terms of governance, reporting, liquidity and capital requirements.

The changes provided for in the General Scheme will allow a bank to choose whether to be a specialist or non-specialist ACS issuer. Specialist issuers will continue to operate largely along the existing lines while, for non-specialist issuers, the restrictions imposed by the Act will apply only to their ACS-related business activities.

A number of changes to the legislation are necessary to allow the universal banking model to work.

I have written to the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and the Taoiseach, and I understand that the Committee intends to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny following the Summer recess.

My officials are engaging with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government to begin drafting the legislation on the basis of the General Scheme. It is not possible, at this time, to predict how long the drafting process will take.