Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

I too have spoken to industry representatives about this issue. This industry, which employs thousands of people across the State, is under great pressure. Many of the companies involved are small. For a small business to have to meet the cost of a €5,000 audit on a regular basis is an imposition. Also, this cost is generally passed on to customers. One of the major elements in terms of competitiveness in this State and, at the times, the lack thereof is the high cost of insurance. The State should be doing everything possible to reduce costs.

I do not support regulation for regulation sake. I do, however, support regulation where it safeguards the public and businesses. The Central Bank has communicated the opinion that it does not see any reason this change could not be made. This is important. I do not believe we should jettison regulation easily but the Minister needs to come up with good reasons for the imposition of this particular cost on brokers.

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