Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 17 seeks to provide for redress of up to three times the amount of the loss incurred by persons affected. The purpose of redress is not to punish the financial service provider but to ensure that the person affected is put back to the position he or she would have been in had the incident not occurred. That is not to say that a financial service provider could not be the subject of an administrative sanction procedure, offence or other financial penalty in addition to redress, where the financial service provider is found to have breached a requirement. Furthermore, the Bill also provides for restitution provisions to ensure that firms or individuals cannot benefit from breaches of their requirements, as illegitimate gains can be retrieved through the courts and redistributed to those affected. This is separate to any sanction or redress procedure. On that basis, I do not propose to accept the amendment.