Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thought my answer was pretty full. To answer Deputy Doherty's question, specific timelines have been set for all lenders to complete their internal reviews. It is the most significant supervisory review undertaken in the context of the Central Bank's consumer protection remit. I assume, from the various answers I have given here, that when the Central Bank probed the matter, it found it was of a greater magnitude than had been expected and that it would have liked to have completed its work at an earlier date.

Since we talked about it here last, the Central Bank has assured me that it will be in direct contact with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. I do not know whether it has done that. It also assured me that it would communicate some of the information that was sought by Deputies here directly, by way of letter. It was also informed by my officials of the committee's request for the Central Bank to attend before it on a quarterly basis to review the situation.

I agree with the Deputies. This was a scandalous situation. The Central Bank is addressing it in a very forthright way now. It has no intention of hiding anything and it wants to co-operate fully with the Deputies in this House who so ably raised this issue. The best forum to deal directly with the bank, rather than through me as the Minister with ultimate responsibility for the bank, is through the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach.

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