Mr. Brian Cowen:

Because under the 2003 Act, as given by evidence by the Central Bank Governor and by the Financial Regulator and by Department officials here, the independence of the regulatory authority was regarded as highly important for its credibility and for its operationality. It doesn't mean that the Department of Finance, you know, had no concerns or had no mandate for financial stability. It was simply that for the independent regulatory system to work, it had been given the powers by this ... by the Oireachtas for them and them alone to be involved in regulatory activity and wider stability issues. Those issues were then reported to the Department of Finance who took them into account in relation to their overall economic and budgetary policy.