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

I agree with the sentiments expressed by the Senator. The days of light-touch regulation are long since behind us and it was a mistake that they ever were brought in. The former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, chaired the particular committee which gave rise to the recommendations. One had this movement stating that because bankers were members of such a noble profession, were the principles of regulation to which they would adhere set down, one then could allow them to apply the principles themselves. That was the basis of light-touch regulation and it was a pretty serious mistake. Consequently, there is quite rigorous hands-on regulation now and the Central Bank has almost doubled the staff involved. Moreover, the regulatory function is rolled in as one of the principal functions of the Central Bank. There is no reluctance on behalf of the Government to give it all the powers it requires either now or in the future.

Where I differ from the Senator is that I do not think the Central Bank can do everything. In other areas of financial activity, there are other regulatory bodies that are empowered to carry out the regulatory function and I went through those in my initial remarks. The question of bill payment services is covered in Part 10 of the Bill. As everyone is aware, there were a couple of serious scandals in which people who could not afford the losses had losses imposed on them when some of the aforementioned bill payment companies became insolvent. Consequently, after examining the situation it is the intention of the Central Bank to bring them within the ambit of its regulation. Part 10 of the Bill covers that matter, which of course will be discussed again on Report Stage. Moreover, when debating the group comprising amendments Nos. 15 and 19, we will go over much the same ground.