Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy referred to the importance of good faith in answering the question. He put his question to me in good faith as well. I am conscious that every financial crisis is different. Many banking crises can be different from those that have gone before. Can I, therefore, guarantee to the Deputy or give him an assurance that our country may never face a huge financial difficulty again in which the financial sector may play a role? I would be foolhardy to give the Deputy such a guarantee. What I can say, however, is that when I look at the legislation in place now, especially concerning the fitness and probity regimes we already have in place for senior roles and, specifically, at how much capital our banks now hold to deal with the consequences of risk developing in a way that affects their balance sheets and that could, in turn, affect our economy, I believe we have strong safeguards in place that give us the best chance against the risks we currently know about. I believe this legislation will be very valuable because we have a clear deficiency now in how we can hold individuals responsible for what we will now see as civil offences. When this legislation is enacted, it will add a further important pillar to the way in which we regulate our banks. Is this a guarantee there will not be difficulties in the future? It is not. With the passage of this legislation, though, we will have the final tool we need to give us the best chance of dealing with the risks that we are aware of and that have happened to us in the past in respect of holding individuals and organisations accountable in the future if issues develop.