Results 5,561-5,580 of 35,567 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Okay.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I will ask a brief question on the balance of probabilities. Will the Minister inform the committee regarding that measurement in relation to the bank making a finding and if that is standard in these matters?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: On section 48, two things that jump out at me on this. This obviously deals with what would be taken into account in terms of the level of monetary penalty to be imposed on a person following an investigation or following a determination that there has been a contravention. There are a number of issues mentioned here. One issue that is not there is the length of time that the contravention...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: My apologies. I see it there. I have a second issue, just to be sure to be sure on this, and this is why we tease these things out on Committee Stage. There is many a piece of legislation I go through just to see the intention and this piece has never ever been discussed so bear with me. Obviously, the courts can actually draw from the discussions that happen on Committee Stage in terms...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I do not think the first point is valid because it is only concerned with an individual bringing the contravention to the attention of the regulated financial service provider or the Central Bank. I am talking about somebody who has been found out and has not co-operated. In that instance, there would be no reduction in the penalty because there was no degree of co-operation. For somebody...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I would argue that somebody who is non-co-operative, who does not co-operate with the investigation, is different from somebody who actively frustrates an investigation. There could be instances, for example, and this could be a contravention in itself, where people could do certain things to put documents beyond reach and so on. It is not just about non-co-operation but about actively...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: That would require a whole other process. If somebody was frustrating the process in the middle of an investigation, would that not be a contravention in itself? Would it not then require an examination and a report and, therefore, an inquiry if the person did not consent to the determination? It would be necessary to go through the process in terms of a prescribed contravention.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I am happy to leave it at that. As I said, in any of these disputed issues in the courts, the legislation is looked on as law, but so are the proceedings in this House. This is why I wanted to tease out this issue and make it very clear that the Central Bank has the power, not just in relation to the degree of co-operation, but also to look at non-co-operation and frustration. I am happy...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Section 52(a) states: If the Bank suspects on reasonable grounds that— (a) a person is committing or has committed a prescribed contravention, or (b) a person is participating or has participated, while performing a relevant controlled function, in the commission of a prescribed contravention by a regulated financial service provider, it may, except where the person acknowledges...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: So far in the Central Bank.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Was this even with individuals or are we just talking about institutions?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Until now. Therefore, the game may change. There is the issue of an individual thinking that his or her institution is being held accountable but it is a different matter when it comes to him or her personally. While I am not completely opposed to this section, I am concerned about its application. I can imagine there will be situations, and we discussed this last week, whereby the Central...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate it.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I agree.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: May I make an intervention on that? On section 64, my reading of the proposed section 33BC(3A)(c) is that it relates to a situation whereby there has been a contravention and the Central Bank enters into an agreement with the individual. Then, after an examination, the individual would agree that there was a contravention and therefore that provision can apply. However, the section we are...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: We discussed issues relating to section 64 earlier, as well as when the committee was in private session. Where there have been significant contraventions by financial instructions, the Central Bank has published the details of the contravention and of the sanction and has named the institution. This section allows for the same to happen for individuals. This may include the name of the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I wish to tease out the process for the appointment of a panel from which inquiry members will be drawn. The Minister is going to be the person who will establish a panel from which appointments will be made by the Central Bank. Subsection (2) states, "The members of a panel established under this section shall be appointed by the Minister following a process conducted by the Bank after...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: That is no problem at all. We will start with the simple ones first. How many individuals is the Minister likely to appoint to the panel? It is to get a sense of how big the panel is likely to be. Will the Minister speak about the requisite qualifications mentioned in subsection (3)? I refer to the skills, experience and knowledge an individual would have to have.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I thank the Minister for that. There will be a transitional panel. That is fine. Will the old panel be stood down? Will the regulatory panel still exist alongside the new panel?