Joe O'Toole (Independent)

The point that there is a real need to discuss this has been well made by Senator Fitzgerald. Apart from the Government's role in this, which I will leave to the Opposition parties to discuss, there is the question of ethics in banking. Today's editorial in The Irish Times deals with the Goldman Sachs affair. It is important to see where we stand in this situation. Goldman Sachs deliberately routed that appalling monetary instrument through the UK, even though it was a European issue, because of the UK law of caveat emptor or buyer beware. There is far greater consumer protection in Europe than in the UK and Ireland so Goldman Sachs very deliberately did this. It breaches all ethics. Many companies refused to have anything to do with the instrument it sold. There is an issue in this regard and the Irish Government should take a stand on it.

The practice of international financial institutions using the different regulations in different countries to get into the space between them to make unfair profits is called "cabbage". Why is this important? A little noted item in the business section of The Irish Times last Friday referred to the fact that the European Union has taken the Irish Government to the European Court because it failed to implement the eighth audit directive on quality assurance in auditing. This directive is aimed at getting the same quality level of audit in all European countries, including the UK and Ireland, and in the US. The directive was passed two years ago and should have been transposed into Irish regulation by either June 2008 or June 2009. That still has not been done. Only one country of the 27 in the EU has not transposed the audit directive. These are the questions I wish to have discussed in the House.

Time and again I have raised the issue of credit union regulation and the fact that the legislation on credit unions has not been amended. I wish to have made public what I have seen, the documentation, requests and correspondence between the regulator of credit unions and the Department of Finance over the past ten years. Why has the legislation not been amended? Senator Ross and I have raised this issue several times, including in a motion before the House some years ago. I guarantee that the same thing is happening with the audit directive. We are a disgrace. People in both the private and public sectors are extremely angry about this. At the same time, the Government is trying to get a deal with the public sector. Public sector workers, like those in the private sector, are disillusioned, desperate and disgusted by everything that is happening. It is pushing them against taking sane decisions.

It is crucial to have the debate called for by Senator Fitzgerald so the Government can reassure us on some of these issues. My approach is not from the point of view that the Government is wrong on all counts. However, I am anxious to hear its response and to hear about clarifications, reasons, policies and how it is dealing with the ethics issue. It could start with the audit directive. We brought it to the attention of the joint committee on regulation six months ago and the committee shared our view on it, but it still has not been implemented. Why?