Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I will keep going and I might make it yet. I will ask all the questions.

Do these “jus cogens norms” mean there is a general binding nature there but that they are not absolutely binding?

That leads to my second question, in relation to EU law under the Treaty of Rome. Is it not a term of the Treaty of Rome that EU law in the form of regulations and directives, etc., is binding in Ireland and therefore, as the Governor said, is it not the case that he is bound by EU law? All the questions this week and last week from everyone are coming from the position I mentioned at the start.

Third, can the Central Bank function normally if conditions like this are imposed on it by the Government?

We could question the purpose of a number of bonds, in addition to the nature of those products, whether they could ultimately result in our being complicit in murder or various other forms of crime and whether they have been issued by rogue states. What I am trying to ask is, if we start to limit the Central Bank in this fashion, where do we stop? Is a logical sequitur of the argument not that there would have to be moral policing of the Central Bank all the time? Where would it begin or end?

We are going to implement the occupied territories Bill and, as the Tánaiste said, we are open to including services in it. Do the delegates accept that this represents very considerable progress? I believe we should do it with great speed.

My last question is for Ms Mahony because it has a more domestic quality. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, has stated he has legal advice, which we assume comes from the Attorney General, to the effect that the Central Bank must be independent in this sphere. Ms Mahony might comment on that.