Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 11 May 2000

Vol. 519 No. 1

Written Answers. - Financial Services Regulation.

Noel Ahern

Question:

122 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance if he will have examinations made and report on introducing a control on the start up of new businesses or services through a licence to trade regulations or system; if such regulations work in the UK and other EU states; and if he will make a statement, in view of the number of businesses operating without adequate knowledge, financial standing, experience or trained staff, procedures or practices, on such a system being consumer friendly and offering protection which is not currently available. [13234/00]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

As the Deputy will be aware, my Department is responsible for the development of the legal framework under which credit institutions are supervised and regulated. Indeed, a considerable part of such legislation originates at EU level under the initiative for a Single Market in financial services and the resulting directives are then transposed into domestic legislation.

Once the necessary legislative framework has been put in place, the day-to-day responsibility for the supervision of credit institutions is a matter for the Central Bank and I, as Minister for Finance, have no statutory function in the matter, outside of a few minor peripheral functions.

Responsibility for the more general issues raised by the Deputy rests, in the first instance, primarily with my colleague the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney. In this regard, I note that the Deputy has also put this question to the Minister.