Ms Derville Rowland:

I accept that enforcement investigations in Ireland and every other jurisdiction take longer than people would wish, as do bringing the cases through to conclusion and producing a public outcome. This particular investigation required a multiskilled team of lawyers and investigators and was highly complex. The fact pattern already involves more than 16 individuals and we had to engage in document acquisition. Unfortunately, the kind of work we do involves a large volume of data and information-based cases, necessitating the team acquiring information from systems, making repeated statutory requests for data, investigating those and dealing with privilege issues and contentions in the course of that. It is not just a matter of investigating, acquiring information and using the regulatory framework to map that against breaches and issues that arose. It is also about dealing with very able legal advisers who are seeking to curtail the requests. That is their right, but it adds to the time and requirements. There was very vigorous legal analysis activity in this case. It meant that we had to be diligent, resolute and precise. We have to get cases like this right. If the Central Bank does not get cases right, no one will come out with their hands up and admit the offences. Instead, we will have to prove them, which is a long slog. In that light, we have to go slowly in forensically turning the page on enormous volumes of data. That can take time. I appreciate that this is not to anyone's satisfaction, but enforcement cases take time because they have to be done right. In this case, it was done right, given that people will not settle with the Central Bank unless they are caught bang to rights. We put a seminal fine on Davy Stockbrokers and the enforcement outcome has delivered a day of reckoning for it in terms of answering for its conduct and culture.