For the Minister for Finance and Taoiseach to suggest that there is no mechanism to command appropriate behaviour by bankers in respect of their pay and salaries is simply giving a clear signal to those bankers and their boards that everything was back to business as usual.

If the government is serious about having the Croke Park deal accepted by public sector workers, they need to put in place a series of confidence building measures.

It is unacceptable to most ordinary workers that people like Mr. Boucher, CEO of Bank of Ireland, can get a €1.5m pension top-up, while Mr. Fingleton, former boss of the now bust Irish Nationwide, can command a king’s ransom in cash from his building society.

These actions by current and former bank bosses represent two fingers to Irish taxpayers.

The Central Bank Reform Bill 2010, as presented, represents very little in the way of innovation or change.

This Bill very much sets out a return to ‘business as ususal’.

It simply re-arranges the chairs in the central bank and financial supervision architecture:

* There is no bank resolution mechanism. If, in the future, a financial institution fails again, there is no mechanism for the Minister, the Governor, or the Regulator to shut down a problem bank before it threatens the entire system.

* There is no focus on consumer protection in the context of mis-selling of products by banks, such as, for example, 100%, 40 year mortgages.

* The power of the regulator to object to unsuitable senior appointments in banks is extremely weak. There are no specific qualifications or evidence of appropriate experience required.

* Minister for Finance will be the sole decision maker in the appointment of the Board, 7 of which are personally appointed by him.