IFSRA issues progress report

More than 11,000 calls were made to the consumer help-line of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority in its first year of operation.

It handled over 2,500 specific issues in relation to dealings with financial services providers, of which 97% were resolved.

IFSRA also produced and distributed 18 separate publications and hosted more than 85,000 separate visits to its website since it was launched in December.

In the same period the Financial Services Regulator authorised 665 new financial services firms and funds, received and analysed almost 51,000 returns from the firms it regulates and conducted 437 review meetings and on-site inspections.

It also met with more than 600 representatives of 244 credit unions at regional meetings throughout the country.

Chief Executive, Liam O'Reilly said:"The size and scale of the task we face can never be underestimated and it was vital that we became effective from our first day of operation.

"The financial services industry is an integral component of Irish society and it is therefore in all of our interests that it remains competitive and that we continue to work to maintain public confidence in it," O'Reilly added.