Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I have stated on numerous occasions that plenty of legislation is passed in the Houses of the Oireachtas that gives adequate powers of enforcement to the Financial Regulator to inspect favourable loans that must be placed on a register. Equally, those favourable loans must be declared to shareholders 15 days before an AGM of shareholders. The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement also has access to that register so there are plenty of people capable of inspections.

With regard to the Minister for Finance being the sole shareholder of the nationalised bank, as far as I recollect we went before the people and those of us in this Parliament were elected. A Government was formed and the specific purpose of anybody in this House is to act in the public interest. The Minister for Finance is charged with a responsibility as shareholder and will act in the public interest and be held to account in this Parliament.

From the political perspective, there is adequate accountability for those in this Chamber in how they are first elected to office and then held to account by this Parliament. There should be enough confidence in this Parliament to hold any member of Government to account to ensure the public good and interest is upheld.

Favourable term loans must be placed on a register and there is an inspection process by the Financial Regulator and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. On Committee Stage I indicated that the reason licensed banks are in company law is because there was not a strong corpus of legislation relating to financial regulation. The long-term intention is to try to migrate those towards the financial regulatory area. That is where they would be best enforced.

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