Vol. 486 No. 1
102 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Finance the action, if any, he intends to take arising from the report of the Governor of the Central Bank dated 11 November 1997 following on the report of the McCracken tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1874/98]
The report to which the Deputy is referring is the letter, dated 11 November 1997, which I received from the Governor of the Central Bank in response to my request for a report on the supervisory issues arising from the report of the McCracken tribunal. In particular, I had asked the Governor to advise me if the Board of the Central Bank is satisfied that the bank has the necessary legal powers for the effective execution of its regulatory role, that the procedures and practices necessary to effectively exercise these powers are in place and that these procedures and practices are being implemented effectively.
Deputies will recall that I placed the contents of the Governor's letter on the record of the House when responding to a parliamentary question from Deputy Rabbitte on 19 November 1997. In that letter, the Governor confirmed that the board is satisfied with its legal powers; that the board keeps under review the bank's supervisory practices and its approach to supervision; that the board endeavours to ensure that these are in line with international best practice and are subject to continuous modernisation and adaptation to meet the needs of a changing global environment. He also confirmed that the board is satisfied that the supervisory procedures and practices are being effectively implemented by the bank.
However, the Deputy will be aware that the terms of reference of the Moriarty tribunal include a remit to make whatever broad recommendations the tribunal considers necessary or expedient for enhancing the role and performance of the Central Bank as regulator of the banks and of the financial services sector generally. I await the tribunal's report on this matter and will, of course, give careful consideration to any recommendation it might make in this regard.
