Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Well, the position is the Central Bank is independent under law, and the regulatory function has been put back in under the ambit of the Central Bank now, with the chain of command being the banking commission, the Governor and then two assistant governors, and running right down to different areas of regulation. If the Governor feels that his statutory powers are inadequate, he will come to me looking for additional powers. I would not intervene as a matter of routine because I'm not supposed to; the bank is independent. But if individual issues come to me, either from Deputies or from the general public or otherwise, then we would question it. And, you know, a number of issues have come up and we have questioned them.

My view is that it's ... it's adequate at present but you need to be constantly alert. And, of course, we have started a competition now for the recruitment of Governor Honohan's successor and, again, that will be a very important development.