Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I have a general question which may arise later in the sections. Under this Bill the responsibility for the guarantee scheme reverts to the Central Bank rather than to the Financial Regulator. Is that part of the proposed new architecture on regulation where the Central Bank is to be the main authority? We have had no discussion in this House on the architecture of regulation, although the Taoiseach promised a banking commission at the time of the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis and, as I said previously, the Labour Party had proposed a banking commission. From a structural point of view what is the role of the Financial Regulator in this? Is the Central Bank to acquire pre-eminence vis-À-vis the regulator?

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