'Trigger' event

The ICCL begins the process of making compensation payments to investors once it has been advised by the Central Bank of Ireland that an authorised firm has either:

(a) been the subject of a court ruling which prevents the firm returning money or investment instruments to clients; or

(b) been the subject of a determination by the Central Bank of Ireland and that the firm is unable to meet its obligations arising from claims by clients.

Communication with clients of the relevant firm

Once the list of clients has been provided by the Administrator to the ICCL, the ICCL will write to all known clients of the failed firm advising them of their right to make a claim for compensation. It will also place notices in the national newspapers and/or in Iris Oifigiúil, seeking claims from investors. Clients of the firm would be encouraged to return their claim application forms to the ICCL within 21 days. In accordance with the provisions of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998 (the Act) investors will be given at least five months from the court ruling or determination by the Central Bank of Ireland in which to make a claim.

Certification of claims

The certification of claims is normally carried out by an ‘Administrator’, who will be either the court appointed liquidator to the firm or a person appointed by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The certification of claims requires that the losses sustained by each eligible investor have been properly assessed and calculated by the Administrator. This process will take some time.

Deadline for Payments

The Administrator will seek to certify claims as quickly as possible. However, in recognition of the complexity of the task, the legislation imposes no deadlines on the Administrator. Once claims are certified, the legislation requires the ICCL to pay claims within 3 months of certification. The aim of the ICCL is to make payments as quickly as possible after certification of the claim.