Mr. Charlie McCreevy:

Well, the Central Bank Bill, the number, the 2000 ... the first Bill in 2002 and the second Bill in 2003 did two separate things. The first Bill in 2002, the Central Bank Financial Services [Regulatory] Authority [of Ireland] Bill in 2002 set up the structure and all things relating thereto. During the course of that debate, I signalled that I would be bringing forward a second Bill that was going to do other things. The second Bill we did in 2003. That second Bill dealt with things like administrative sanctions, penalties, set up the Financial Services Ombudsman, did a whole lot of things like that. So, in the second Bill in 2003, there were adequate legislative measures put in place to do all of things to do with penalties, sanctions, etc., etc., and that's what the purpose of the second Bill was in 2003, and that was done.

I can't ... I'm not in a position to know as to how that was implemented post my leaving the Department of Finance. There always would have been, even pre the old Acts, before we had a new structure ... there would have been provision in the Central Bank Act of 1942, as amended on many occasions, for that type of sanctions and penalties. Panels have to be set up, and the lawyers around here will know it, and you had to, the minute ... one of the jobs of the Minister for Finance was to publish a list of ... the panel lists that would be ... banks could appeal some of the decisions of the regulator. So, therefore, there were always provisions for sanctions and penalties in the old Central Bank Act, and in the new Acts as well.