Ms Seána Cunningham:

Under the current legislation, there are two constraints on the monetary sanction that can be imposed on an individual under the ASP. First, it is capped at €1 million. The sanction was capped at €500,000 before 2013, but then increased to €1 million. Second, the sanction cannot have the effect of rendering someone bankrupt. We have published extensive guidance on how we sanction firms and individuals.

The general scheme envisages that what we have set out by way of guidance will now be enshrined in legislation applying the key principles that would cover any sanctioning process based on its seriousness, nature, duration, proportionality etc. The sanctions imposed to date by the Central Bank under ASP range from €5,000 to €200,000. We have that range in our toolkit to impose an appropriate fine, based on the seniority of the person, the expectation of the person and the level of the misconduct.

The Deputy asked who will pay the fine. As that will depend on a particular case, I do not have a clear answer to give on that.