Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What I was pointing out when I mentioned the EU and the EEA was that there are absolute reciprocal arrangements on regulation if a firm is within the EU. Deputy Peadar Tóibín said that in effect I had changed tack. I have changed tack. I changed tack precisely for the reason the Deputy has outlined. The reciprocal arrangements would not apply if it was a Canadian-based owner. Foreign-based owners are part of the reason we changed tack. Services must be regulated to be allowed interaction with Irish customers, so owners cannot circumvent the regulations. If an owner is in Canada, the credit service agency will be operating in Ireland and will interface with the customers.

If we are regulating at the point of interaction, it does not really matter where the owner is. In issuing instructions, the owner is constrained under section 1(f), as I pointed out, and will be further constrained under the provisions of amendment No. 20, which we can go into in detail when we come to it.