Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputies for their interventions in this debate. I will deal with issues raised on all sides.

Deputy Noonan raised the question of the information flow from the regulatory and central banking system to the Department. The difficulty is that we are trenching upon the distinction I drew in the debate - which is the one point of difference between our position on the terms of reference and those of Fine Gael and the Labour Party - between areas of political accountability and those relating to the banking system itself. The Government has decided to draw a distinction with regard to these inquiries.

Deputy O'Donnell raised the question of why a different date was provided for the banking system as opposed to the regulators and supervisors, and Deputy Burton echoed that concern. Deputies will appreciate that there was considerable telescoping of time in the preparation of these terms of reference because the committee kindly met on Monday evening and then I had to brief the Government on Tuesday, and I must admit the differentiation escaped my attention. It is not really sustainable because if one is considering the banking system and regulation at the same time-----

See this speech in context