Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

While the Minister has gone half way to meeting the amendment tabled by the Deputy, he cannot go the full distance. Much of the difficulty stems from the Deputy's insistence on the use of the word "authoritative" in his amendment. The ombudsman can make comments and recommendations on financial consumer protection in the State in the context of any investigation he or she carries out. Nobody is taking away from that. The ombudsman could include those comments in his or her annual report and I am sure the Minister would not seek to censor or limit what he or she might wish to say. The Deputy insists in his amendment on including the word "authoritative" but authority must be earned by an ombudsman as with a politician. Authority cannot automatically be bestowed by an Act of Parliament. That said, the review of trends is provided for in the Government amendment. What the Deputy seeks in the balance of his amendment is something the ombudsman might well do in the proper course of his or her functions.

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