Industry Funding Levy Consultation – FAQ

The Industry Funding Levy recovers an agreed proportion of the Central Bank’s cost of financial regulation from the firms it regulates. Any regulated firm which is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank on 31 December of a given year, is liable to pay the Levy in the following year.

The amount raised from industry in respect of the 2025 financial regulation costs was €226 million from 14 industry categories, with invoices issued in August 2026. This covered 87 per cent of total financial regulation costs.

Further details of the Levy rates that applied can be found in our Funding Strategy and Guide to the 2026 Industry Funding Regulations publication.

CP172 aims to solicit views on Levy methodology changes that the Central Bank proposes to introduce for certain industry categories. The changes concern how the Levy is distributed across firms in an industry category and not how much is collected from the category.

The main changes relate to categories where PRISM Impact-based scales currently apply. These are insurance undertakings, investment firms and investment fund service providers. The scales would be replaced by “ad valorem” approaches where the Levy payable by a firm is directly related to the value of one or more metrics taken from firms’ regulatory reporting e.g. revenue or assets under management.

In addition, changes are proposed for retail credit firms / credit servicing firms, payment institutions and e-money institutions. No changes are proposed for other industry categories.

The rationale for the proposed changes includes:

• Improved consistency in how the Levy is determined across industry categories
• Addressing the “cliff edges” that currently arise with PRISM Impact-based scales, which can result in a substantial increase or decrease in the Levy a firm pays from one year to the next should their Impact category change
• More proportionate contributions
• More transparency for firms
• Alignment with the evolution of the Central Bank’s approach to regulation and supervision.

More details are provided in the consultation paper.

The Central Bank has undertaken several consultations proposing Levy methodology changes for certain industry categories in the past. Examples include the approaches for retail intermediaries, credit institutions, and payment institutions and e-money institutions.

Following the completion of each consultation process and after considering stakeholder feedback, the Central Bank implemented Levy methodology changes in most instances. For some industry categories, proposed changes to the Levy methodology did not proceed due to sector specific factors such as the implementation of new regulations.  

The proposed changes (set out in detail in Section 3 of the consultation paper) mean that some firms in an industry category will pay more than would otherwise have been the case, while some firms in the same industry category will pay less. This is an inevitable consequence of any change in approach, particularly when moving away from broad categorisation PRISM Impact-based structures with the associated cliff edges.

In recognition of this, a transition period is proposed to phase in the changes over four years to smooth their impact and allow firms to plan for them.

The consultation will run until 8 January 2027. During this period, the Central Bank welcomes submissions from external stakeholders concerning the consultation questions set out in the consultation paper.

We encourage those interested in contributing to the consultation process to bear the closing date in mind. Representative bodies may need to engage with their members well in advance of the deadline date to ensure views are collated and reflected in a submission to the Central Bank.   

The Central Bank recognises the importance of engaging with those who affect and are affected by our work. As a result, we are planning to hold an industry seminar during the consultation period (expected to be in November). Information will be provided in due course. In addition, we will engage with industry bodies directly where requested.

Submissions to this consultation can be submitted to levyconsultation@centralbank.ie, or by post (submitted to Industry Funding Levy Consultation 2026, Central Bank of Ireland, PO Box 559, Dublin 1). Submissions should be clearly titled “Consultation on Industry Funding Levy Proposals”.

It is our intention to publish all submissions received on the Central Bank’s website following the conclusion of the consultation period and once next steps have been determined. In making a submission, stakeholders should not include commercially sensitive information unless it is considered essential. In publishing submissions, we will endeavour to delete any commercially sensitive material that has been highlighted as not for publication.

Questions can also be submitted to the above email address during the consultation period. Questions raised that are of general relevance (along with answers) will be added to this page periodically.

After the consultation period has ended, the Central Bank will review and assess the submissions received and determine the Levy methodology changes to be introduced.

A Feedback Statement will be published that will summarise the key topics raised and feedback provided in submissions, the Central Bank’s response , and details of the specific Levy methodology changes that will be implemented. A timeline for their introduction will also be provided.  

The consultation paper proposes the following schedule:

• Levy 2026 (payable in summer 2027) would be 25 per cent new basis amount plus 75 per cent previous basis amount
• Levy 2027 (payable in summer 2028) would be 50 per cent  new basis amount plus 50 per cent  previous basis amount
• Levy 2028 (payable in summer 2029) would be 75 per cent new basis amount plus 25 per cent  previous basis amount
• Levy 2029 (payable in summer 2030) would be 100 per cent  new basis amount.