Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I cannot pretend I understand fully the products which necessitate a change in the legislation governing them. To a large degree, we are taking on trust what the Minister and his officials tell us. I recognise this is a sector of the economy that has grown rapidly and where early movers can get a significant market share. Ireland has been most effective in developing a good niche in the financial services sector in recent years. I am supportive of any development of our legislation which has a sound prudential basis but which is also allowing new products to develop. We have developed a well-earned reputation for being effective on the regulatory side, while doing it with a light touch that is not excessively bureaucratic. We must maintain that reputation.

With the establishment of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, IFSRA, some of the financial institutions involved in these more arcane areas of financial product development have felt that perhaps the new regulator has been on a learning curve and the system has become more bureaucratic than had been the case in the past. Inevitably, with any new institution there is a bedding-in period. We are moving from a situation where financial regulation probably considered only prudential concerns and did not consider consumer issues but that is changing. As regulatory regimes develop, regulators have to come to grips with a need to look in more than just one direction.

I am encouraged that this is a sector where there continues to be growth and high quality employment is provided. We could probably go further in working to develop the pool of talent and educational supports to make this industry grow. As we have seen in recent times, some of our traditional manufacturing industries and even some of our more recent internationally traded services are coming under some pressure. This sector has not suffered any such reversals in recent times and we need to cherish and nurture it to some degree. For that reason I am pleased to support this legislation.

I accept the legislation is urgent and the Minister is anxious that we pass it before the end of this Dáil session. We will not be able to go into the Bill in the detail that such legislation might warrant in other times. However, I am confident sufficient work has been put in by the official side to make sure this is proofed against any problems in the future. We have to take that on trust, but our faith is based on a reputation that has been well earned by those who are sponsoring this legislation.

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