Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Mario Nava from the European Commission to discuss banking regulation, supervision and financial stability. Mr. Nava is currently the director of the regulation and prudential supervision of financial institutions directorate in the Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union Directorate General, formerly the Internal Markets and Services Directorate General. Mr. Nava has been in the European Commission since 1994. His previous posts include acting director for financial services policy and financial markets, member of the group of policy advisers to Commission President Romano Prodi and a member of Mario Monti's cabinet. He studied economics at Bocconi University and at Louvain and has a PhD in public finance from the London School of Economics. Alongside his work at the Commission, he is active in research and teaching. He is a visiting professor at Milan's Bocconi University and occasional lecturer in many universities across Europe.

I wish to advise the witness that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to this committee. If the witness is directed by the Chairman to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and the witness continues to do so, the witness is entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of his evidence. The witness is directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and, as he has been informed previously, the committee is asking witnesses to refrain from discussing named individuals in this space of the inquiry. Members are reminded of the long-standing ruling of the Chair to the effect that members shall not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I welcome Mr. Nava again and ask him to make his opening remarks.