Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Morning, Ms Nolan. Ms Nolan, the banking and financial services division at the Department of Finance have, as a principal directive, it's on your website, and I'll just quote: "On the one hand, to contribute to the maintenance of financial and economic stability and identify and manage potential risks to that stability...". And then, on the other hand, a little bit later, "...to continue the development of Ireland as a centre for international financial services". As you well know, in the 2003 Central Bank and Financial Services Authority Act, responsibility was given to the Central Bank and the regulator in the Act "to promote the development within the State of the financial services industry". And that was removed, then, in the Central Bank Reform Act 2010.

Can I ask you if continuing to give this mandate to the Department of Finance to develop the financial services industry on the one hand, and then to have ... identify and manage potential risks, can this impact on making appropriate decisions regarding policy and legislation in regard to the regulation of the financial sector?