Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. On that issue, the Central Bank is the regulator of these funds. It is seen internationally as a very strong regulator. The Deputy points to the history in this area. There has been a strong response to that history with regard to improvements in how the Central Bank deals with this area and the level of supervision it provides.

The usual complaint I get is that it is overly bureaucratic, whether in respect of banks or credit unions or funds such as those addressed by the Bill. I do not accept that complaint because it is an asset for Ireland that we can state internationally that we have good, strong regulation. If a business comes to Ireland, it will have the benefit of one of the best regulators in Europe. We are particularly strong in terms of regulation.

On the issue of investors, this is a is very important point. The essence of the Bill relates to investment limited partnerships. As is the case when investing in any shares, if a company or a person invests €100,000, they can lose their money if the product does not work or the company does not succeed but, no matter what happens, their losses are always limited to what they invest. When investing in a financial product, one takes one's chances. However, there is absolute regulation The person who manages the fund has no limited liability and, as such, is fully on the hook personally if they do not do their job properly. If a company or a fund happens to run into a problem, the individual investor cannot be called on to contribute any more than he or she contributed on day one because his or her liability is limited to his or her original investment. All one can lose is the money one puts in, in the same way that in every walk of life and in every investment one makes there is no possibility of having to contribute further. Even if there is a loss, the investor's liability is completely limited to the original investment. There cannot be any greater loss. As I stated, we have strong regulation.

I thank members for their contributions. It is good that there is broad support for this essential Bill which will help to modernise investment limited partnerships offering in Ireland and will make changes to the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle Act 2015. The amendments to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 will help to ensure that the Central Bank can operate as the beneficial owner register which we already discussed. I believe the changes will help to further support Ireland's offering as a top-tier global location choice for financial services. As I mentioned at the outset, the legislation is consistent with the Ireland for finance strategy and is timed well to take advantage of the capital markets union agenda and to promote the establishment of private equity and venture capital vehicle funds in Ireland. Every new product like this on the market will lead to additional jobs in Ireland. People will work in this sector that was not available for Ireland before this legislation. Not only will it create additional investment, it will also create additional employment and additional taxation for the State. I thank members for their assistance.