Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Because banks used different standards in the past they were able not to disclose all of their losses. Making it flexible for them, even with the amendment, will allow funds to pick and choose the standards that benefit them. We should not do this. There is a risk in that regard to investors. There may not be a risk to the State as such, but there is a risk to financial institutions located in the State that invest in these funds. It has happened in the past. I have been involved in a long debate with the European Union, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Minister for Finance on accounting standards which allow the banks not to disclose losses. It was completely legal, however, because they had chosen to use a certain standard over another. I wanted to raise a red flag for the Minister of State and it is welcome that we are going further than the European Union. Unless there is a substantial reason such as it would scare off these funds, we should apply a uniform set of standards.