Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

A few weeks ago, I raised with the Taoiseach some scandalous transactions by a number of financial advisers that have led to genuine investors getting stung for millions. Since raising this issue, I have been contacted by numerous people who have had their honest savings robbed. The last time I spoke on this, I knew of around ten people who were affected. Now, I have at least 60 people who are in this situation. The number is rising.

The regulation of standards and practice is the norm for many areas of work in this State. In healthcare, we have HIQA, which conducts regular inspections of our health service to ensure standards are met and users are safe. In the food and hospitality industry, the Food Safety Authority ensures that standards are met by means of carrying out regular inspections of premises. In the pharmaceutical industry, the European Medicines Agency regulates medicines for human use, ensuring their safety, quality and efficiency. In the financial services sector, regulation is the remit of the Central Bank but regulation of financial advisers appears to be practically non-existent, leaving the ordinary investor at the mercy of some unscrupulous individuals. How can a financial adviser take money from clients for investment in a company that is regulated by the Central Bank, provide loan notes which are not covered by the Central Bank, and put the company into receivership, while the client loses his or her money? That same adviser can then set up another company and start all over again, with no repercussions. Some advisers have done this 11 times already.

I reached out to the Central Bank seeking a meeting but to no avail. That led me to think whether this is a further cover up. The Central Bank is, in my view, equally culpable here. This raises a number of questions for the bank. What is the Central Bank doing in terms of regulation if financial advisers can fleece investors with impunity? How many audits of financial advisers does the Central Bank carry out each year? Will the Central Bank disclose details of these audits? Why are loan notes unregulated? Why does the Central Bank allow financial advisers to behave in this manner without sanction? Many people in my constituency and in many other constituencies face financial ruination having been let down by the Central Bank while the financial advisers, who they trusted and who they understood to be regulated the Central Bank, have run off with their money to another country under the guise of bankruptcy. The amounts for which constituents have been caught include €750,000, €500,000, €350,000, €52,000, €50,000 and much more.

It is now obvious that regulation by the Central Bank does not exist. Does the Government have the power to launch an investigation into the workings of the Central Bank? Will the Taoiseach work with me to get a meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank in order to get answers to the many questions that are out there about Central Bank-regulated advisers who have robbed millions of euro of people's savings?

See this speech in context