AML and KYC Training in Dublin: In-Person Options and What to Look For

If you work in a firm that has to carry out know-your-customer checks in Ireland, the practical question is rarely "what is KYC" but "who needs which training, and what does the law actually say each person has to do?" This guide is a map for compliance officers, money laundering reporting officers and finance managers based in Dublin or elsewhere in Ireland. It describes what our detailed posts on AML and KYC training in Dublin say, shows where each topic fits, and offers clearly labelled suggestions on choosing in-person training. It adds no new legal rules, and the law is national, so the position is the same in Dublin as anywhere else in Ireland. The starting point for the training duty itself is our guide to section 54 of the Criminal Justice Act 2010 and AML training.

How to use this guide

• If you need to know what the Act says about training, start with the section 54 guide below.
• If your question is about checking customers, go to the customer due diligence and simplified due diligence posts.
• If you need to know who in your sector is covered and who supervises you, go to the sector posts.
• Check dates. Each post carries its own caveats, and the rules and guidance change, so confirm the current text before relying on any summary, including this one.

The training duty

Our section 54 guide looks at what section 54 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 requires. According to its summary, that covers the duty to adopt policies and procedures, the duty to instruct staff and provide ongoing training, an internal reporting channel, duties that apply only if directed, and the offence provisions. The guide also separates what the sources say from our own suggestions, and lists what the sources do not say. Read it first if you are responsible for deciding who in your firm needs training and how it is recorded.

Checking customers: due diligence and monitoring

Our guide to customer due diligence in Ireland explains who has to apply customer due diligence, the triggers for applying it, the difference between a business relationship and an occasional transaction, what the checks involve, the timing exceptions, and what happens when a customer will not cooperate. It ends with a section on turning the rules into a working process and where to check the current law.

The simplified due diligence post makes one point worth repeating to staff: simplified due diligence is not an exemption. It discusses section 34A of the 2010 Act and the Central Bank guidelines, and what a designated person must assess, record and monitor before applying a lighter approach. Our post on ongoing monitoring and record keeping then covers what the Act says about monitoring a relationship after it starts, the Central Bank's transaction monitoring expectations, record keeping under section 55 and where retention meets data protection. Together, these three posts follow a customer from onboarding to the file you keep.

Reporting suspicions

Our guide to suspicious transaction reports in Ireland covers who must file a report under section 42 of the 2010 Act, what triggers it, what a report must contain, how filing works with FIU Ireland and Revenue, and the tipping-off rule. It also offers a section on building a workable internal process. Our suggestion: check that the people who might spot something unusual know who files the report and how to reach them.

Sector guides and wider compliance topics

Different sectors have different supervisors and different pages to read. We have separate posts on:

• Credit unions, covering the legal framework, policies and senior management approval, staff training and the Central Bank's published material.
• Estate agents and auctioneers, covering what the Property Services Regulatory Authority says licensees must do, including risk assessments, due diligence, cash and reporting.
• High-value goods dealers, covering who counts as a dealer, who supervises them and what the supervisor's guidelines say about cash payments.
• The Register of Beneficial Ownership, covering who must file, the ownership test and the deadlines the official pages state.
• Financial sanctions, covering EU restrictive measures, who must comply and what to do if there is a match.
• The EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority, covering the new EU rulebook and the dates, including where sources differ.
• The Individual Accountability Framework, covering the Central Bank's conduct standards and what the official pages say about commencement.

Several of these posts note where the official pages are old or where we could not confirm something, and say so in plain terms. That is deliberate. In compliance training it is more useful to know where the sources run out than to read a confident summary.

Choosing in-person AML and KYC training in Dublin: our suggestions

The following points are our suggestions, built on the descriptions above. They are not legal requirements.

• Start from your role and sector. Decide who is a designated person in your firm, who files reports and who handles onboarding, then match training to each role.
• Ask what the course is based on. A good course should be tied to the current Act, the Central Bank or sector supervisor's guidance, and should say when its materials were last updated.
• Use scenarios from your own sector. A session works better when examples reflect the products, customers and cash patterns you actually see.
• Plan for the whole team. Include front-line staff who spot unusual activity as well as the compliance officer, and diarise refreshers.
• Keep evidence. Record who attended, when, what was covered, and where each person can find the policies afterwards.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Where should a new compliance officer start?

Start with the section 54 guide to understand the training duty, then read the customer due diligence and suspicious transaction posts, which follow the customer journey from onboarding to reporting.

Is simplified due diligence the same as no due diligence?

No. According to our post on the topic, simplified due diligence is not an exemption, and the Act and the Central Bank guidelines still expect an assessment, a record and monitoring.

Does the law differ in Dublin from the rest of Ireland?

No. The Criminal Justice Act 2010 and the related guidance are national, and nothing in our posts suggests a Dublin-specific rule.

How current is this information?

This guide summarises our posts as they stood when we wrote it. Check the Act, the Central Bank, your sector supervisor and the Department of Justice for the current position.

Do the sector posts replace the main guides?

No. They sit alongside them. The main guides cover duties that apply across sectors, and the sector posts cover the supervisor and the pages specific to that sector.

In short, match training to roles, base it on the current Act and guidance, and keep the records that show it happened.