Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

In my short contribution I asked the Minister of State to outline the role of the Financial Regulator in the preparation of this Bill. The Minister of State made a second reference to what I presume was commercial expert legal advice and, as he did not reply to my query in his second Stage speech, can he tell us whether the Bill was drafted by the parliamentary draftsman or by private companies contracted for the purpose? Was the independent commercial legal advice provided freely or was it paid for by the State?

Regarding the definition of the terms, can the Minister tell us what was the role of the Financial Regulator? My question was legitimate and I felt deserved a legitimate answer so the Minister of State might give an explanation in this regard relating to the amendment.

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