Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes, it does. Let me finish. I did not interrupt the Deputy at all. The consequences of the crash have been very simple. The actual powers of the Central Bank and of the regulatory authority as well as the independence of the Central Bank as an institution have been strengthened significantly to ensure for everybody's sake that we will never see a banking crash again.

The Deputy asked a number of questions. I do not know whether he is implicitly proposing in the question that it would be better to remove the independence of the Central Bank and that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, would make direct decisions in this case. As the Deputy knows, the general regulatory structure that has been adopted in Ireland and around the European Union is to seek to have a strong independent regulatory authority as well as having strong consumer protection.

I share the Deputy's concerns both in terms of cases I am aware of and those I have read about in the newspapers. The banks have been dealing quite well and fairly with a number of cases. However, I do not have the overall picture. I know that some people have got settlements from different banks which they have been satisfied with.

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