Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, this is not a ... it’s not a controversial statement because the pattern of appointing Central Bank Governors was almost exclusively from the ranks of senior civil servants in the Department of Finance without any external scrutiny and without any external competition. I believe that was a serious mistake. I think it’s clear that this led to the absence of any, sort of, constructive tension, if you like, between the, between the two or dissonant viewpoints between the two institutions regarding the direction of the economy and the risks that we faced. Clearly, with regard to the relationship between the Financial Regulator and the banks, I note that the ... the former Financial Regulator, Mr. Neary, acknowledged in his testimony to your inquiry here that having the Irish Banking Federation organise a retirement party for the chairperson of the Financial Regulator was utterly inappropriate. This was, if you like, systematic of a relationship that lacked, sort of, the necessary, you know, bite in authority and ... wasn’t, wasn’t appropriate.

I know that Ms Burke from ... of both IFSRA and formerly from the Central Bank, spoke to the inquiry of this excessively close relationship, she said:

Senior banking executives had direct contact with senior executives in IFSRA, often without the knowledge of, not to say engagement with supervisory staff. Staff were regularly requested by senior IFSRA executives to review decisions or issues based on these decisions or were told by contacts in banks that the issues had been or would be discussed with our senior executives

To me she said, "At its most benign it indicated a disconnect between BSD and the senior IFSRA executives." She said it also signalled a "manifest lack of support for staff, undermining them in their dealings with banks and-----"