Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Finance if the Central Bank has advised him of the number of cases prosecuted against Irish banks in courts here; and if so, if he will provide a breakdown for each bank licensed here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39023/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland (CBFSAI) does not advise the Minister for Finance in relation to the number of cases prosecuted against any financial institution, including banks, in courts of this State.

By way of background, I might explain that the role of the Minister for Finance as regards financial regulation is to develop policy and bring forward proposals to the Oireachtas for the regulation of the financial services sector. Once that legislation has been enacted, the task of implementing and applying it on a day-to-day basis rests with the Financial Regulator, which is independent of the Minister in the exercise of its statutory functions.

Part IIIc of the Central Bank Act, 1942, as inserted by the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004, provides the Financial Regulator with a range of options to deal with contraventions of regulatory requirements, including the power to administer sanctions in respect of prescribed contraventions by regulated financial service providers and persons concerned in the management of regulated financial service providers. It may also refer certain suspected contraventions to other enforcement bodies or agencies, such as An Garda Síochána or the Director of Public Prosecutions for further investigation.

Any sanctions administered by the Financial Regulator are published on its website. In addition, the Financial Regulator records, in its Annual Reports, the number and types of regulatory actions, including administrative sanctions, in any given year. As far as the question of the number of cases prosecuted against credit institutions in the courts in this context is concerned, I have forwarded this to the CBFSAI, which will reply directly to the Deputy.