Joe O'Toole (Independent)

It is very interesting to note where we find ourselves with the decisions of central banks around the world to reduce interest rates. The ordinary people of this country are discussing the point raised by Senator Fitzgerald, namely, whether the banks will pass on the benefit of the interest rate cut. It would be interesting to contextualise the debate in terms of the comments made over the years in this House about giving more power to regulators and allowing the regulators to regulate. The fact is we as a Legislature have never given adequate powers to regulators. Any time the subject comes up we talk about "State interference", "big government", "the nanny state" and say "let the market perform" etc.

We could have given the Financial Regulator the power to insist that the banks pass on the reduction in interest rates. That could involve only one phone call from the Minister for Finance to the regulator. I raise the matter in the context of my comments last week in the House. We need to revisit such issues as directors' compliance statements and the need to give regulators the proper authority to regulate for the common good. We must not be afraid to examine and address this matter. We must acknowledge that the system has not worked to date and move on. Before making speeches saying that the banks should pass on the interest rate reduction, we should look into our souls and say that we did not give the authority to the regulator to do that. If we had done so, we would not be having this discussion. The matter would be delivered with one phone call this morning. It is as simple as one line or paragraph of legislation.

I previously raised the question of the future of the rescue service and Coast Guard stations at Malin and Valentia Island, as have other Senators, including Senator Coghlan. The Leader, to his credit, responded very positively on both occasions. We waited to see what developments took place. We now face an extraordinary and possibly unprecedented situation which needs to be sorted out. No one is taking responsibility for moving in the direction of closing down the stations at Malin and Valentia Island. We hear from one side that this was a political decision and from the other that it was not.

It is hard to believe that, when serving as a Minister, Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, would have set about closing the station at Malin, in his county. This is not something that politicians rush to do. In his defence, there is no evidence that he did this. It was stated to a committee of the House and it has been inferred otherwise, that this was a decision of a Minister of the Government. We are entitled to know the position. Before arguing about the madness of the decision in the first place, about which I have previously spoken, let us decide who makes the decision. Is it Government policy to close down, or to allow to fade away, the Coast Guard stations at Malin and Valentia Island? I do not wish to hear that we are not doing anything at the moment. Are these stations keeping the same level of authority, influence and importance as they have at present? It is a simple question for the appropriate Minister, and we can proceed from there when we will know where we must fight.