Barrister and former Progressive Democrats TD, Mr Michael McDowell, has been appointed chairman of the implementation group which is to advise the Government on setting up a single regulatory authority for the financial services sector.
The terms of reference for the body, published yesterday, mean it will look closely at the functions of existing regulators, especially the Central Bank.
It will assess whether the Central Bank and other regulators like the Director of Consumer Affairs and the Registrar of Friendly Societies, will continue "to have functions in relation to the regulation of financial services sector". The terms of reference thus leave it open to the body to assess the appropriate regulatory structure and it is possible that the Central Bank will retain a role, despite recent criticism of it.
The group will be considering whether an "alteration to the status quo would impinge on the non-regulatory functions of the Central Bank".
Mr McDowell's appointment was announced yesterday by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney.
Mr McDowell said yesterday evening that he has no plans to rejoin the PD party following his appointment. He said he had accepted a Government invitation to chair a non-party political body, and the move had "no implications, full-stop". The nine-member group must report back to Ms Harney and Mr McCreevy by the end of February 1999.
In addition to Mr McDowell, the group includes Mr Joe Moran, the former chief executive of ESB, Mr Maurice Tempany, former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Director of Consumer Affairs (to be appointed shortly), and a representative from the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Finance, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the Attorney General's office.
Meanwhile, Ms Harney, speaking at a jobs announcement in Dublin by DreTec, said a regulator would be appointed later in the year. She said the office would bring together current regulators such as the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the office of Registrar of Family Societies and the Central Bank.
She added that society's approach to taxation contributions in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s "was seriously dysfunctional".
"We all have to make our contribution and Revenue have to have to power to regulate these matters," she said.
The most scandalous decision ever made by an Irish government had been the tax amnesty of 1993 which had "legitimised" tax evasion.
"We have got to put systems in place to ensure that it does not happen again," she said.
Jails were not built for the poor but for those who broke the law. It was unfortunate, Ms Harney added, that no white collar criminal had ever been jailed.
