Mr. Maurice Crowley:

That is a difficult one. With regard to there being a consumer representative on the board, it has been tried before with public interest directors. Without getting too technical, one would then get into a situation where the issue would be whether the responsibility of these directors was concerned with the collective good of the company versus their individual interests as consumers. Because it would be only one voice, I am not convinced that providing for such representation is the answer, but banks have to be held to account for their behaviour. That goes back to the Senator's earlier questions. Clearly, the senior executive accountability regime, SEAR, will be an important avenue. From our conversations with the Central Bank, Bank of Ireland and the Department of Finance, they have been clear, rightly so, that they want to see accountability on the part of individuals. Part of the issue in the past was that many decisions were taken on a collective and participatory basis. In those circumstances how does one focus on the accountability of individuals? The SEAR will break that link. Tthere will be a much clearer focus on holding individual accountable. I assume it will be incumbent on the Central Bank to include the consumer as a key part of the responsibilities in that regard.