Mr. Pat Lardner:

I thank the Deputy for the question. The Commission is undertaking a number of measures that are in play at the moment, which are very positive. One of the things we have been great advocates for is looking at how we bring down the barriers to enable the cross-border distribution of product. I will explain what that means. The funds industry believes that broad choice of product encourages competition and encourages the reduction of costs. The Commission has been working on how, at a national level, we can bring down the barriers to allow that type of product choice to come in to the market. That is one practical example.

Earlier, reference was made by the Department of Finance and the Central Bank representatives to regulation. We have seen a continuous process of regulatory updating and adding to the corpus of regulation that exists. It is part of what we do as it is a regulated business. From our perspective, we want to make sure that entities are appropriately regulated, and we believe they are. We also want to ensure there is the ability to get good solutions in to investors' hands so they can save for retirement and age care. We want to try to do this in a way that reduces as much friction and duplication as possible. Ultimately, in providing services and in providing for compliance with regulation, there are costs. We want to make sure there is appropriate protection, but done in a way that is sensible for investors and the providers of services to the investors.