Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In that case, I will ask my questions together. I thank the Minister for the discussion thus far. Head 4 of the general scheme states that the "legislation will not define the sectors to be included in SEAR, as this will be provided for by the Central Bank Regulations" and that other sectors "may be brought within the scope of SEAR in the future, after the legislation is enacted." Will the Minister clarify what sectors are not envisaged to fall under SEAR in the medium term, once the legislation has been enacted? Will these be, for example, the payment gateways such as Revolut, Stripe and the buy-now-pay-later company, Klarna, which is to enter the market in the South?

My next question relates to how the rules would apply to persons such as in-house lawyers. I do not see a specific provision relating to such persons but I am aware that this matter was debated in Britain when its regime was being introduced.

At our meeting last week, I raised with the Central Bank the issue of directors holding multiple directorships simultaneously. This practice, whereby individuals can hold multiple directorships of companies, continues. The number of directorships individuals hold at the same time can run into the hundreds, which would cause concerns about their ability to perform their fiduciary duties and about wider accountability issues in relation to that. I am aware there can be limitations on the number of directorships that can be held for public companies but not for private companies. Should this matter be addressed in the Bill?