Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I think ... well first of all, I think the biggest objection I had was that we hadn't stress tested the actual powers, the capabilities, the method of overseeing the financial institutions. There was a bigger debate about whether it should be ... the regulator should be independent, stand alone, or be part of the Central Bank, and that dominated, if you like ... that institutional debate dominated the conversation, where I thought, personally, that the more important thing was were they fit for purpose, were they capable of overseeing the sort of financial problems that were already evident. But, again, we would have favoured a single ... a stand-alone regulator, an independent regulator.

But I think that was less central than the issue of their capabilities and were they robust.