Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

As I understand it, this legislation refers to facilitating banks to avail of secured long-term funding by issuing covered bonds and using certain types of assets such as residential mortgages and some of the assets of public sector loans in a covered assets pool and then issuing bonds secured under the covered bond legislation against the pool.

Like other Deputies, I received a note from the Minister for Finance rather late last week to say it was urgent that this proposed legislation would be enacted. The original legislation was brought before the Dáil in the recent past. The Minister needs to tell us why there is a need to amend this legislation already. I accept some measures relate to new moves in regard to the European Central Bank and arrangements in regard to European directives. However, I notice the Minister is also amending the existing legislation. I would be grateful if he would explain what exactly that is about.

In addition, the Minister referred to this legislation having been vetted in some way by the Financial Services Regulator. Again, I would like the Minister to be more specific about what exactly that involves. It is difficult to get a specific and personal request from the Minister for Finance to facilitate legislation he deems to be urgent yet at the same time to get little or no briefing. Bonds are widely used in financial services markets. With depositors and lenders to banks not behaving as they once did in a stable pattern by holding their money in banks over a long period, banks have to evolve different types of instruments to address this.

As with all rushed legislation, the Opposition is obliged to take the word of the Minister for Finance in this case as being his bond. The legislation issued over the St. Patrick's weekend and there has been no opportunity for the Opposition to seek independent advice or to have any opportunity to meet with people from the industry concerned and to hear some independent counsel.

In many ways the Financial Regulator has done a good job but, nonetheless, we heard on RTE in recent days about a subsidiary company of Friends First in which a fraud took place and where the person concerned, who was a director of a subsidiary company, is still serving in that capacity. The Financial Regulator has appeared before the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service at various times and informed us in great detail about the stringent conditions which were being introduced to address the qualifications of directors considered suitable to serve on the boards of financial institutions. In addition, he referred to the matter of people serving as senior executives in the banking and insurance industry.

While the Financial Regulator has done much good work, the Opposition and accountability to the Dáil should not be completely taken for granted. We largely rely on the Minister's description of what is involved and his word being his bond in this case. Within the IFSC and related companies, there is much employment available to graduates. This area of the employment market pays well. It is a hapless record for the Government that 35,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the past five years. In the context of these huge job losses, it is appropriate that we would support a measure which at least sets out to secure good quality employment in the banking sector.

On that basis, and taking the Minister's word on trust, because there has been no time to get any kind of independent evaluation carried out, I am prepared to support the Bill. The Minister of State referred at the end of his contribution to the great work of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel. If it is that great, why does the Bill need to be amended so soon? The history of legislation rushed through the House in a couple of hours in this manner has not always proven fantastic. With those caveats in mind, I support the Bill on behalf of the Labour Party.

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