Professor Philip Lane:

It is vital that the Oireachtas pass this law. We have a fair amount of reach compared to many jurisdictions where there is no such law. The fact that we came up with this structure whereby we have reach over the credit servicing firms means that even if a global investor owns the loan, and the global trade in loans is getting bigger all the time, there is a good degree of protection. This is quite an effective way to deal with the global issue of how one regulates and supervises loans at a national level that have a global ownership. This is an effective framework. We now have sight of these firms through authorisation and supervision and, therefore, have a mechanism to ensure they are subject to our various codes. That is an effective step this country has taken in this case.