Central Bank cannot say whether it has been asked to approve prospectuses for sale of Israeli bonds

Oireachtas committee will be told Central Bank is bound by law not to disclose if any approaches have been made since last year

Protests outside The Central Bank of Ireland over  the sale of Israeli Bonds. File picture: Sam Boal/Collins

The Central Bank cannot say whether it has been asked to approve prospectuses for the sale of Israeli bonds, it will tell an Oireachtas committee.

The use of Ireland as the issuing country for the prospectuses of Israeli bonds — which are largely being used to fund the country's war on Gaza — attracted protests in the last year, but the State of Israel bond issuance programme said it has now been approved for fundraising in the EU by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Representatives of the Central Bank, including governor Gabriel Makhlouf, will on Wednesday tell the Oireachtas finance committee that it is bound by law not to disclose if any approaches have been made since last year.

Mr Makhlouf will say the role of the Central Bank is "to ensure a prospectus has been drawn up in compliance with the disclosure requirements of the Prospectus Regulation" and to "approve a prospectus if it meets the standards of completeness, comprehensibility and consistency imposed by the Regulation".

"As such the Central Bank does not endorse the issuer or the securities by way of the prospectus approval, but rather confirms that it meets these required standards," Mr Makhlouf will say.

He will say that he sent a letter to TDs and senators this week and that "due to professional secrecy obligations, we cannot provide details regarding our discussions with individual issuers, including the nature and timing of any requests" and that the Central Bank is "subject to confidentiality obligations pursuant to the EU Prospectus Regulation and Section 33AK of the Central Bank Act 1942".

"This is the law, and we must act within and in line with this law, though I understand that can be difficult and frustrating for the committee in the current circumstances."