Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 February 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Engagement with the Central Bank of Ireland

Ms Derville Rowland:

The Deputy is talking about the legislative scheme, which is being followed. He is also talking about a loophole and key decisions being retained. I do not have the information in front of me and I want to give him a full and comprehensive answer to this important point. It deserves to be considered on merit and it is a point of significant detail. Beneficial ownership and legal title are not mere paper exercises. Decision-making rights flow with each and specific matters are excluded under the scheme in the first place. There is quite a lot of detail in this. I completely agree that it is an important point and one to which the Deputy wants answers. I am very happy to come back to the committee in writing about this. This is a conversation about loopholes and workarounds in the absence of the detail and the substance of what the authorisation framework requires. What the legal framework requires, what decision-making rights go with the legal title, and what is left outside is actually the substance of this conversation. I suggest that it would be better to follow up in detail because it is an important matter and important to get the detail right.