Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Jackman raises a very interesting but obscure point. The professional secrecy provisions in the Central Bank Act 1942 do not comprise a subject one with which would be familiar. That said, this petition is a prime example of the work of this committee. It transpires that Mr. Jackman's observations are that if the Financial Regulator is investigating a matter, he or she cannot provide any information about the wrongdoing being investigated or the outcome of the investigation. These only become public if a sanction has been declared. Mr. Jackman has raised a point of which we would otherwise not be aware. The recommendation should be that we accept this as a petition and that we invite the petitioner, Mr. Jackman, to come to this committee in order that we can further examine the observations with a view to inviting the Minister for Finance to come to the committee to explain. This is a legislative matter and, ultimately, the Minister is the person who can defend, explain or offer an amendment to the legislation.