Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----we can speak about the body of work but the bottom line is that the banks knew what they were doing. They were compensating their balance sheets because they were under severe pressure. They wanted to get profits. They found profits in any way they could. It was the role of the regulator to protect the interests of the consumer. The major investigation on this did not commence until 2015 onwards. Because I want to be certain about it, the question for me is around light-touch regulation. Ms Rowland still has not answered my question about why the Central Bank did not pick up on it and why it did not pull the banks up on it and get them to correct the measure. The Central Bank put ordinary consumers under enormous pressure. I want to be certain that what is in place now will ensure that this kind of thing could be picked up. In her statement Ms Rowland refers to the "Cultural failings within the banking sector" and that "Disappointingly, those failings did not stop once the examination was launched." Are the banks afraid of the Central Bank or do they still regard the Central Bank as, effectively, something they can ignore at their whim and as they wish? I want to know that the mainstream banks are afraid of the Central Bank.