Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the passage of the Bill. I apologise that I, as my party's spokesman on finance, was not present to contribute on Second Stage. My reason for not being here is that I was obliged to attend a private meeting of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. I hope the Bill will assist the inquiry in its work by enabling information crucial to its investigations to be provided by the Central Bank. The latter is fundamentally important. Essentially, what we are doing here is enabling documentation and information to be provided, in so far as is possible, by the Central Bank to the joint committee. In that context, we are dealing with restrictions which have their origins in EU law. The Bill is important in the context of the work of the inquiry and I welcome its passage. I look forward to fully participating in the deliberations of the inquiry in the coming weeks and months.

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