Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the submission of an association (details supplied) on the harsher rules that apply to its members, compared to solicitors, accountants or banks, in terms of regulatory obligations; if he is considering changes in these provisions. [12754/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I met with representatives of the association referred to in the Deputy's question on 17 February last. The specific issue they highlighted was in relation to the conclusions drawn in a recent Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) which was conducted by my Department. This recommended that, when amending the Insurance Mediation Regulations (S.I. No. 13 of 2005), the existing regulatory regime should be maintained for accountants that perform insurance mediation business on an ancillary basis. However, the RIA also made a number of recommendations which were aimed at making the existing Approved Professional Body (APB) regime more transparent. In particular, the RIA recommended that the current benchmark for determining ancillary business should be reviewed.

The association referred to had argued strongly against the retention of the existing APB regime during the RIA process. On the other hand, the accountancy representative bodies argued the contrary position equally strongly. In those circumstances, it was appropriate that particular emphasis should be given to the position of the Financial Regulator, in view of its roles in regard to the supervision of insurance intermediaries, as well as its statutory responsibility for consumer protection.

The Financial Regulator's assessment was that the current APB regime delivers effective regulation in a rigorous, independent and professional manner. The Financial Regulator confirmed to the Department that there is no evidence that the APB supervisory regime is less effective than direct regulation by the Financial Regulator. As far as the impact on consumers and the rights of citizens are concerned, the assessment of the Financial Regulator is that customers are best served by the retention of the present APB arrangement for insurance mediation.

At our meeting referred to earlier, the association disagreed with this conclusion and, consequently, I offered to ask the Financial Regulator to re-examine its assessment. The Financial Regulator is at present analysing the counter arguments put forward by the association and I await the Financial Regulator's further assessment with interest.