Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I will begin with Deputy Bruton's question regarding Kraft Food's takeover of Cadbury, an issue that has been raised by several Deputies in the House. Last night I met the chief executive officer of Enterprise Ireland and we agreed to provide every support possible to Cadbury, which is based in Ireland, in the context of the business plan it must put forward as part of the restructuring announced by the chief executive officer of Kraft Foods. I am aware that Lord Mandelson has already met the latter and I too have requested a meeting with her. It will be more useful for that meeting to take place when we have a proposed business plan for the sustainability of Cadbury's presence in the State. It is on that basis that I did not ask to meet the chief executive officer until such time as the takeover is finalised and we are given an outline of the timeframe in which Kraft Foods is moving ahead with its new management. However, I have been advised that it will be a difficult task to make the case for Cadbury's sustainability in Ireland in the context of the overproduction and oversupply that will arise from the takeover. Having said that, we will put our best foot forward and will give all necessary support to the workers and the company. I will keep Members who represent the workers in Dublin and Kerry apprised of developments.

The Minister proposes to introduce two Bills relating to the Central Bank, and we anticipate the first will come before the House by Easter. It will be a relatively short Bill that will concentrate on reforming the regulatory structures of the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator. This relatively short Bill will concentrate on reforming the regulatory structures in the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland. Corporate governance will be very much to the fore in that context. The management will respond to the Comptroller and Auditor General's report. The legislation to be enacted this year will set out a new statutory basis for the senior management structure. Corporate governance issues will also be addressed, as I have indicated. As the Central Bank is an independent institution, it is not subject to the direction of the Minister for Finance or the Government in the discharge of its functions.

I understand that the Minister for Finance outlined his proposals on the other issue to the House last night or the night before. It is important to emphasise that the delegation of functions will not dilute the responsibility of the Minister for Finance in any way. He will continue to be fully responsible and accountable to this House. The arrangements he is proposing-----

See this speech in context