Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I have one brief comment and then a question. It seems in all of these matters it is a case of the chicken and the egg. Whether it is corporate tax, financial transaction tax or now shadow banking, we cannot do anything because it is a big international matter anyway and, therefore, we will merely protect our own interests and not worry about the bigger picture. It means the bigger picture never gets worried about, or there is no effective way for us to do anything about the bigger picture. I put that forward as a theme that constantly re-emerges. Given their impact on the global economy, I do not accept that we must sit here and accept these matters.

Are the witnesses saying that Ireland, with its somewhat outlying position in this regard, is acting as a bridge for an American approach to financing the economy, with 80% financed by this shadow banking sector and only 20% by the traditional banking sector, whereas Europe has it the other way around and is seeking greater levels of regulation? Are we positioning ourselves with an American approach to financing the economy, which is a more deregulated banking system? That is what we seem to be doing.