Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy is right. However, the initial policy in an area is devised by the Department. When a regulator issues a report, a Minister cannot change or direct that report, but he can set policy. The Deputy will say that this moves on into the regulator's report and he cannot change that. The regulator, however, cannot just go ahead and ignore the legislation or policy issued by the Department.

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