The problem with Ned is that it’s all coming from the top of his head

DISSENTING voices can be very useful in a parliamentary democracy, shaking cosy consensus and provoking debate that might not otherwise take place.

I doubt though if Ned O’Keeffe was playing devil’s advocate for this purpose when he addressed the Dáil last Wednesday on the new bill for regulation of financial services: I reckon the Fianna Fáil TD for Cork East sincerely meant every word he uttered and that’s what’s really worrying.

O’Keeffe garnered the headlines for three main reasons: in his latest attack on the new financial regulator, Matthew Elderfield, he decried the consequences of what he called over-regulation which, bizarrely, he believes encourages reckless and bad behaviour by banks; he defended the performance of the former boss of the regulator’s office, Patrick Neary, describing him as “decent and honest”; he sang the praises of AIB for its role in supporting farmers and rural businesses over the decades and bemoaned it falling into state control.