Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 June 2026
66. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department has engaged with industry on proposals for changes to company law to support the tokenisation of funds set up as Irish companies. [46252/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAccording to the Funds Sector 2030 Report of the Department of Finance, tokenisation is the process whereby an underlying asset or pool of assets, tangible or intangible, is converted into digital “tokens” that act as its proxy. It could fundamentally reform how capital markets operate, enabling real-time trades; increasing transparency and liquidity; expediting clearing and ultimately providing for atomic settlement.
The Minister for Finance – who has lead policy responsibility for this area – published the Funds Sector 2030 Report in October 2024. The report is entitled Funds Sector 2030: A Framework for Open, Resilient and Developing Markets and it is a wide-ranging review of the funds and asset management sector.
The 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”.
I am advised that the Department of Finance fully support and encourage the work that industry has undertaken thus far to assess what can be done within the current legislative and regulatory frameworks. Officials from that Department are considering submissions from industry regarding proposed changes to the current legislative framework.
This work by that Department will help identify legislative changes that may be required for the purposes of future policy developments in the area of Distributed Ledger Technology and tokenisation.
Following that work, my Department will examine any proposed legislative amendments to the Companies Act put forward by the Department of Finance, as is the current practice in the normal course of events. This is in tandem with other work involving negotiations by the Department of Finance as policy lead in this area, such as work at EU level involving financial services legislation.
Finally, the Deputy may also be aware that in line with Recommendation 17 above, the Central Bank published a Discussion Paper on tokenisation last March with submission being invited by the Bank by the 5th of June last. I understand that the intention now is for the Central Bank to publish a feedback statement following the consultation period.
