Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Ó Céidigh raised the important issue of shadow banking. It is a source of concern. I read an article on the matter in the Irish Examinerduring the week in which it was stated this was the sixth largest centre in the world for shadow banking, which is incredible. Therefore, it has an impact. Oversight and regulation need to be improved as it can have an effect on the traditional banking system. The Senator said it was worth trillions of dollars in the USA and I understand Bank of America was involved in it. The Senator also said we must act to deal with it and educate and inform people of it. I will be happy for the Minister responsible to come to the House to discuss it because it is such an important issue. The Cathaoirleach said that while the Senator's piece was interesting, we had to be careful about it. Some of the commentary on the issue is interesting and a Google search throws up a high number of articles on it. We sleepwalked into the banking crash.