Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with Senator Sean D. Barrett's concerns first. He has not said anything with which I do not fully and completely agree. I am afraid that there was a deliberate policy which had nothing to do with the Central Bank of light touch regulation that disempowered proper supervision for a long period. These matters will be investigated in a different fora and we will see what transpires over time.

I made it clear that I encompassed that as far as legally possible. I cannot propose to this House law that is contrary to European law and under the European system of central bank statutes and the EU directives relating to banking supervision, there is a requirement for secrecy regarding some of the operations of the Central Bank of Ireland as a subset of the European system under the European Central Bank and it is not legally possible for us to enact a proposal that undermines European law, which has uniform application across the eurozone, in that regard.

With regard to the Office of the President, Senator Byrne instanced all the aspects that should not be covered by FOI, with which I agree, but then he said that the only aspect that might be captured is the financial affairs of the office, how the money is disbursed and so on. That is covered by a formal Vote to the office, subject to normal scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Oireachtas. I agree with him regarding all the aspects that should not be captured by FOI and it is inappropriate for us to do that.

I hear what the Senator said regarding the NTMA.