Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I move amendmentNo. 3:

In page 5, line 13, after "1942" to insert the following:

"(inserted by section 26 of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003)".

This is a drafting amendment to correct an inconsistency in drafting between this section and section 11. Section 11 refers to a 1995 Act, as amended in 1998. It is also inconsistent with the drafting of section 16, which also lists specific amendments.

Regarding what the Minister said earlier, he still has not outlined his fundamental take on the matter. He cannot have woken up a happy man when he saw the Ormond vehicle going under, having been bailed out to the tune of €17 billion to €27 billion, depending on which financial journalist he reads. He cannot tell me he was delighted or did he just say: "There we go again, what is a couple of billion among friends?" The Minister said it has had no impact on his thinking. On the other hand, I am sure the Minister, Deputy Harney, will be surprised to hear that he is relying, probably sensibly, on the advice of people in the European Central Bank but what does that mean?

Do we take a position where we examine what is happening? We are all agreed that the financial services centre is an important source of jobs and in a globalised economy financial services will remain one of the biggest outlets for employment, particularly for graduates and post-graduates,. Therefore, the way we regulate and the extent to which we know what is going on in the International Financial Services Centre is important in terms of our reputation. The Minister's attitude is disappointing. He is waiting for some wise group from Frankfurt to come forward with proposals but there is a general consensus that the development of complex financial products, which very few people can fully understand, is an area whereby if people take ridiculous risks we may all end up paying the price for that excessive risk taking and gambling by the people playing those markets.

This is an important issue for us. I presume people from our Central Bank visit the European Central Bank. Do they go with some kind of remit from the Minister's Department? Are they examining the issue? Are they taking part in these discussions or do we just get a note from Frankfurt telling us what we are to do and the Minister will comply with it? I am a little taken aback by the Minister's description that there are wiser people available in the European Central Bank to whom he will listen. Are we not part of this process? Do we not have a role to play in it? Do the Minister's officials put forward points of view?

The Minister should remember that the scene in the Ormond Hotel in "Ulysses" was the siren scene. The Ceann Comhairle will know that from his previous stint as the Minister with responsibility for the arts. We know that sirens enticed men onto the rocks where they perished. That is the issue with the financial services market and the Ormond experience. People should not be enticed into excessively risky situations which,in turn, has a bearing on the rest of theeconomy.

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