Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I very much welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. Over the past decade the banks in this country have become an unregulated feral beast which cannibalised the future of a generation of young people. It took the collapse of an economy and the plight of unemployment for those who were supposedly in charge of regulation to wake up. While previous regulators and Ministers for Finance dithered, it took the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, to spell out that clear reform was needed - reform which should have been in place. It is important that those who were in charge not just politically, but those who were in charge of banks and the regulator, must be held to account. The people of this country want people to be held to account.

At last we have a regulator who is in charge and who is doing his job. He is regulating. I heard him speak in University College Cork last night. I was heartened to hear him say that he would be breathing down the necks of the banks. It is only a pity that he was not in the same position a couple of years ago as the carnage that happened may well not have occurred.

The EU-IMF programme requires an overhaul of financial regulation and the Bill is the second step of a three-part process which will end with one single consolidated Act governing the Central Bank. I welcome the Minister's initiative in leading this reform. In researching the Bill I was shocked to discover that we are legislating for mechanisms that have been in place in the United Kingdom for more than a decade. The United Kingdom is ten years ahead of us in legislative terms in that regard. While our next door neighbours were reinforcing the regulatory regime we were sitting back doing nothing, allowing the carnage to take place. The skilled persons reports, which are proposed in the Bill, have been in existence in the United Kingdom since 2001. Finally, at the end of 2011, we are getting around to putting the same framework in place. In the meantime we were docile and passive, relying on the honesty of financial institutions to supply information without any independent verification to the regulator or the Government. Let us look at where that got us. That point must not be ignored. Let us look at what the regulatory regime introduced by Mr. McCreevy and his pals have got us. Light touch regulation does not work.

There are a number of benefits to an improved regulatory regime, most importantly that it limits, in so far as that is possible, a recurrence of the current catastrophe. We are taking steps to prevent taxpayers being exposed again to the heavy burden which has landed on their shoulders. I accept many of us are paying for the collapse in the banking regime. That is why it is important that our banks are held to account. As I said last night in the Chamber about the Keane report, the banks must work with the people who need their help the most, be it small business or home owners. They must not fight and intimidate people.

Equally important is the reputational benefit we will gain from having a robust regulatory regime. In the six months from March to September 2009 our global competitiveness among financial centres fell 13 places. Our competitive advantages were eroded and our reputation was shattered. That is why it is important that the Members opposite who complain about regime change and the way Government is doing business must come up with practical, deliverable solutions which will be of benefit to people - an gnáth duine - the ordinary person. I will keep saying that. I challenge the Members opposite to come up with solutions that will work in the interests of the ordinary person that can be sold across Europe.

A new regime will be introduced to protect whistleblowers and increase fines by up to 10% of turnover. It will give real and substantial powers to the Central Bank to help re-establish our international reputation as a place to do business. It will also offer some level of certainty to businesses who wish to invest in people and the future of this country. I see little point in the Oireachtas passing this legislation to put in place a framework for robust regulation if it is not enforced. The legislation must be enforced. If the rules are broken, then someone must be held to account. If someone impedes or obstructs an authorised officer he or she can be fined up to €250,000 or imprisoned for up to five years. Fines that can be imposed by the Central Bank for administrative sanctions are being doubled to €1 million for an individual and €10 million or 10% of turnover for a firm. If the powers to summon witnesses is obstructed, the penalties will increase by up to €5,000 and result in a prison sentence of up to 12 months. If the rules are broken the full force of the penalties must be used.

Many Members on the Government side of the House are frustrated and angry that we have not seen anybody punished for the recklessness in the financial sector that has bankrupted the country. People must be held to account. Nobody, no matter who they are, should be allowed to walk away, washing their hands of the consequences of their decisions. The Financial Regulator must maintain his healthy scepticism of the motives of the banks. He must not be afraid to use the powers given to him by us, the Oireachtas. I hope he follows through on his tough talk and that he continues to breathe down the necks of the banks.

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