Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2026
136. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will report on plans to amend the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles Act 2015 and other legislation to facilitate the adoption of tokenisation in Ireland’s fund industry. [68262/26]
View answerFunds tokenisation is emerging as a potentially significant innovation in global capital markets, with the potential to transform how investment funds are issued, administered, traded and settled. Tokenisation, the process whereby an underlying asset or pool of assets, tangible or intangible, is converted into digital “tokens” that act as its proxy – could fundamentally reform how capital markets operate, enabling real-time trades; increasing transparency and liquidity; expediting clearing and ultimately providing for atomic settlement.
As part of the Saving and Investment Union (SIU) strategy, the European Commission has published the Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP). This package will amend 18 pieces of existing EU financial services legislation across trading, clearing, settlement and assets management.
Amending the DLT framework among other related measures forms part of the MISP proposal which seeks to turn the use of DLT in capital markets from a limited “sandbox” into something that can be scaled across the single market, The DLT Pilot Regime is being amended so that tokenised securities can be issued, traded, and settled at meaningful scale. Other changes amend existing EU financial services legislation, making them technologically neutral, allowing for the use of DLT and other technologies. This proposal is currently under negotiation at EU level.
The Funds Sector 2030 Report included a recommendation that industry should continue to engage with the Central Bank of Ireland and the Department of Finance, as necessary “with a view to mapping out a pathway for adoption of tokenisation”.
The new Ireland for Finance Strategy, ‘Vision 2030 – Renewed and Refocussed for a Digital Age’ was launched on 25 August 2026 and identifies tokenisation of investment funds and financial assets as a high-priority area for Ireland's financial services sector and positions it as a key part of the country's digital finance agenda.
The Government has committed to supporting the development of tokenisation of investment funds by conducting an examination of relevant domestic legislation, including the Irish Collective Asset Management Vehicle Act (ICAV Act) and the Companies Act with a view to the modernisation of the legislation where needed.
In March this year, the Central Bank published a Discussion Paper on tokenisation on 5 March 2026. Officials in the Department are engaging closely with the CBI on the matter, including the responses to the Discussion Paper and these will be used to inform next steps.
I can assure you that this is an area of active consideration within the Department, with officials working closely with the Central Bank of Ireland and engaging with international counterparts. This ongoing work is helping to inform the development of an appropriate legislative approach, and I hope to be able to provide greater clarity on timelines in the near future.
