Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

In a small country like Ireland, there is a clear need to relate the stability function of the Central Bank in a clear and transparent way to the regulatory function of the regulatory system itself. We will have a unified board over which the Governor will preside, and to which the head of central banking and the head of financial regulation will be accountable in their own distinctive capacities. We need that type of structure to prevent a repeat of what we saw in the past. I agree with the many Senators who said that regardless of the structures that are devised, men and women rather than measures are decisive at the end of the day. In all of these matters, careful attention to appointments is of decisive importance.

Many other points were raised. I have tried to deal with as many points as possible.