Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know Dr. Fagan is the chief economist in the Central Bank, and obviously we are talking about a different era, but I get a wee sense of déjà vu. I sat on the banking inquiry with a number of members of this committee and we had Central Bankers and staff coming in saying they had issued letters saying the tax breaks should be broad despite the fact that the Government had reduced the tax base substantially and relied on property-related transactions. With regard to the schemes that were introduced affecting the property sector, they were able to point to letters that said the Government needed to be careful about distortions.

Has the Central Bank learned its lesson and will it speak up if it believes a certain policy that is to be introduced by Government would have a material distorting effect on the property sector or will it continue with the policy it has had over the past decade, which has been to remain mute on these issues and issue broad cautious statements that could be interpreted differently depending on which way one came down on the issue?