Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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103. To ask the Minister for Finance the detail of the Central Bank inquiry into a building society (details supplied) currently under way; the work that has been done to date; the costs incurred to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41281/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Under Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act 1942 (as amended) (“the Act”), the Central Bank may hold an inquiry to determine whether or not a financial service provider is committing or has committed a suspected prescribed contravention. The Central Bank may also hold an inquiry to determine whether or not a person concerned in the management of a regulated financial service provider is participating or has participated in the commission of a suspected prescribed contravention by the financial service provider.

Part IIIC of the Act sets out the framework for how Administrative Sanctions Procedures inquiries are to be carried out. The Central Bank has prescribed Inquiry Guidelines in order to set out the general procedure which it ordinarily proposes to follow at an Administrative Sanctions Procedures inquiry (available here: ).

The Central Bank has appointed an Inquiry Panel, from which Inquiry Members will be appointed in individual cases to be referred to Inquiry pursuant to Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act, 1942. The list of the Inquiry Panel is available here:

The Inquiry Members who have been appointed to conduct an inquiry decide how it will proceed and the procedures to be followed. The Guidelines provide that the Inquiry Members may decide to hold inquiry management meetings in order to assist in the timely and efficient running of the inquiry and to ensure that the issues to be determined at inquiry are narrowed to the greatest extent possible.

Inquiry hearings, including inquiry management meetings, may be held in public or in private; this is determined by the Inquiry Members. Notices in relation to meetings are published on the Central Bank’s website. Where a meeting is to be held in public, its date, time and location are published on the Central Bank's website (available here: ).

The three Inquiry members appointed in the INBS Inquiry are Marian Shanley (Chairperson), Ciara McGoldrick and Geoffrey McEnery.

As this Inquiry, and civil proceedings with respect to the inquiry are ongoing, the Central Bank is not commenting at this stage on the Inquiry or on costs incurred in relation to the Inquiry.