Madam, - Desmond FitzGerald, in a reference to the NIB report, boldly asserts (August 4th) that the Tánaiste, Mary Harney, has never "developed a single policy to ensure fair and accountable regulatory powers for the State". This is an extraordinary statement that does not stand up to objective scrutiny.
Indeed, Mr FitzGerald's letter brings to mind the character in the Monty Python film who had the temerity to ask, "What have the Romans ever done for us?" In so far as his letter poses the same question about the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the answer to Mr Fitzgerald is: "Quite a bit, actually."
Since Mary Harney took up her present posts in 1997, the following changes to our regulatory regime have been introduced:
The establishment of a new and independent Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), an independent, dedicated and properly resourced agency to enforce the law. The office has at its disposal all the necessary legal and accountancy expertise as well as employing members of the Garda Síochána with powers of detention and arrest.
A thorough revamp of the rules and controls in the auditing and accountancy profession and the establishment on a statutory basis of the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IASSA).
The establishment of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA), involving a radical overhaul of our system of financial regulation in a manner which put the interests of the consumer very much to the fore.
The establishment of the Company Law Review Group on a statutory footing to review the law on an ongoing basis and to bring it into line with best international practice where that is not already the case.
An increase in the powers and resources of the Competition Authority, the statutory body charged with enforcement of competition law in Ireland.
Legislative changes that have significantly strengthened the investigative and enforcement powers of the Revenue Commissioners. These include provisions for imposing severe sanctions against those found guilty of breaches of the law. Of course, in NIB's case, the damage to the bank's reputation is perhaps more costly than any sanction that could be imposed by statute.
It is also worth noting that it was Mary Harney as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment who applied to the High Court in 1998 for the appointment of the inspectors to examine the affairs of NIB. A similar initiative on her part resulted in the Ansbacher Report published in July 2002.
Mr FitzGerald asks what it is about the NIB report that the Tánaiste finds disturbing. This question is presumably an exercise in rhetoric.
In any event, in the light of the extensive media coverage given to the report and its findings, it is hardly a question that requires a response. - Yours, etc.,
GERRY DONNELLY, Press Officer, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Madam, - I am intrigued by the letter from James Fox (July 27th), who does not seem in the least bit concerned at overcharging by banks.
Is this the way he treats his own customers - by overcharging them, and generally treating them with disdain? Is this a general attitude of business people in Ireland? Given the revelations about NIB, I think we owe journalists such as Charlie Bird and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement a debt of gratitude for seeking to expose what appears to be wanton criminality in our society. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN O'CONNOR, Moira, Co Down.