Vol. 508 No. 1
369 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Finance if the Government will review the decision in principle to proceed with the establishment of a single regulatory authority for the financial services sector in view of criticism at home and abroad suggesting potential damage to inward investment if the Central Bank was divested of authority to perform a key regulatory role. [17277/99]
The Deputy will be aware that on 20 October 1998 the Government agreed in principle to the establishment of a single regulatory authority for the financial services sector at the earliest date possible and agreed to the immediate establishment of an implementation advisory group to progress the necessary work. The group's report was finalised on 19 May 1999 and submitted to myself and the Tánaiste on the following day. The report, which contains a considerable number of recommendations, was published on 23 June 1999 at which time I asked that interested parties make their views known so that as much public debate as possible on this issue can take place. I can assure the Deputy that I will bear in mind all the points raised during this process in my deliberations on the matter.
No decisions have yet been taken on any aspect of the group's proposals. The Tánaiste and I hope to be in a position sometime in the near future to bring joint proposals to Government as to how best to proceed.
