Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will come in briefly. As I said, I appreciate the sentiment of the Senator's contribution. She is right that I am in a position as a Minister of State in the Government to be able to ensure we get the reassurances required in this regard. To be frank, I do not think there is a need for a legislative requirement for a report. The legislation is clear on what the responsibilities are in respect of asset managers. It is a fairly black-and-white binary issue from the perspective of the Government. I am not going to get into any issue in terms of the reporting process or sanctions because I am fully reassured and aware of the importance of this measure.

This is not just a situation where it would be nice if the asset managers paid attention to this stipulation. It is a direct and binding contractual instruction. It is a deadly serious requirement of any funds an asset manager is engaged by the State to oversee. These are professionals in this area and we need such professionals to do this work in this area. I am not a qualified asset manager and, although I stand to be corrected, I do not think any of us in the Chamber are. Perhaps Senator Casey is one. Who knows? Other than that, what we have here is a tight legislative instruction that gives due attention to the two existing relevant Acts already mentioned. The responsibilities imposed upon asset managers in this context are quite clear. I appreciate the Senator withdrawing amendment No. 2 but it remains the case that I am not in a position to accept the other three amendments we discussed in this group.