Ireland way off ensuring banks operate within rules

More than 130, or one in 12, state-paid staff in the Central Bank got salaries of more than €100,000 last year. You’d really wonder why if you were listening to the Oireachtas finance committee yesterday.

Central Bank governor Philip Lane was explaining to TDs and senators what actions were taken against lenders for overcharging mortgage customers. Thousands were wrongly moved onto more expensive deals.

It was put to Mr Lane again and again that the Central Bank’s role was a supervisory one, paid by taxpayers, to protect customers and impose sanctions where lenders act wrongly.