Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

In a sense this is a philosophical question on how one would view the role of the Central Bank and the regulator in these matters as opposed to the political system, with the Minister on the one hand or an Oireachtas committee on the other. If one were to take the view that one would charge the Central Bank and the regulator with particular responsibilities, among them setting out their code of practice, and also to take the view that it would be very undesirable that there would be interference in the pursuit of the functions of the two offices by the political system or the Minister, one would come to the view that even in the case of the code of practice, which perhaps Senator Donohoe would argue is fairly narrow and parallel to the operations of the regulator and the Central Bank rather than central to them, it would seem to be more desirable that the bank would come forward with its own code of practice and operate in accordance with it without having to refer to the political system. The general provisions of the Bill with regard to the accountability of the Central Bank for its regulatory performance to the Oireachtas and its committees seems to strike a reasonable balance between its operational independence and accountability, which is very necessary and is provided for in this Bill, and its capacity to order its own business in terms of its code.