Counterfeiting Act 2021

Regulations (Part 3)

15. (1) The Central Bank, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, may by regulation provide for the following:

(a) the designation of a relevant person for the purposes of section 24 (9);

(b) the manner in which, and the time limit within which, a relevant person shall hand over to the Central Bank banknotes to which Article 5 of the Euro Banknote Decision applies;

(c) the standards (being stricter standards than those provided for in the Euro Banknote Decision) according to which manual fitness checking and automated fitness checking, or both, of euro banknotes of a particular denomination or series is to be carried out;

(d) the manner in which, and the time limit within which, a relevant person shall hand over to the Central Bank unfit banknotes.

(2) The Central Bank, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, shall make regulations under subsection (1)(c) only where it—

(a) is satisfied that the making of such regulations is justified, including having regard to the quality of the euro banknotes in circulation in the State, in order to protect the integrity of euro banknotes and to enable the proper detection of counterfeits, and

(b) has, prior to the making of the regulations, informed the European Central Bank of its intention to do so.

(3) The Central Bank shall cause regulations under subsection (1)(c) to be published on its website as soon as is practicable after they are made.

(4) Regulations made under this section may contain any incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions that appear to the Central Bank to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(5) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.