Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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What I am saying is that the letter from Professor Honohan points out that the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Roux flagged in a letter to Mr. Derek Moran additional measures that could be taken to strengthen the supervision of non-life insurance. They include the consolidation of disparate insurance regulations in a coherent whole, transposing without further delay the Solvency II directive and giving the bank the power to regulate insurance holding companies effectively. The Minister of State took on this job at the behest of the Minister for Finance. My point is that the Minister of Finance was made aware, through correspondence from Professor Honohan, that the Central Bank was seeking additional powers to regulate insurance holding companies and wanted the disparate insurance regulations gathered together into a whole. We also know that Mr. Moran was aware of this because the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank flagged it to him previously.

I am asking the Minister of State if these powers have been given to the Central Bank. My understanding is that they have not, even though Solvency II has been transposed since this letter was written over a year ago. Have these powers been given to the Central Bank? If not, why not? Why is the Minister of State not aware that the former Governor of the Central Bank and the Deputy Governor were looking for additional powers to regulate the insurance holding companies effectively?