Recently I read an article by Senator Ross in one of the Sunday newspapers which addressed the issue of stockbroking firms, an area with which the Senator, who comes from a stockbroking background, will be familiar. In it he questioned the independence of stockbroking companies, particularly in the Irish market, because in many cases stockbrokers advising clients to purchase or continue to purchase certain stock also worked for large firms. The Senator made the valid point that stockbrokers rarely advised clients to sell stock in particular companies and questioned whether one could give credence to any information emerging from such companies. There are some parallels here which need to be examined.