Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Since the Central Bank is supporting the Department in that trilogue process, I am seeking to discover what Ireland has been bringing to the negotiations. I am very concerned there may be a bit of a divide and conquer in that we have heard a lot of talk about crypto not being appropriate for retail customers. The point is, however, that in the last crash, it was not retail customers who bought securities and bundled products; it was the financial system. It was in many cases professional investors who created and bought into new products, and it was retail customers, or citizens, who paid the price for that. The idea, therefore, that we will keep retail customers away from crypto but let it into the financial system is a concern I still have. There is not such a hard line between cryptocurrency and digital finance. For example, Revolut was mentioned earlier. I know that the witnesses will not comment on individual companies, but Revolut offers the option of purchasing cryptocurrency. We have heard that many people now bank with Revolut. Those who are involved are involved in something which has significant exposure to cryptocurrencies. As a result, there is quite a blurred line between digital finance and cryptocurrency. Those are concerns I have.

Yes, there is talk of innovation in the industry, but earlier the witnesses were asked specifically if there is a conversation in this area and we were told that it would happen at EU level, and now it turns out it is happening at Irish level but with industry. The conversation has to be social, societal and political. That is why I am interested in what positions Ireland - or, certainly, the Central Bank - is bringing to the discussions of these regulations.