The Governor of the Central Bank has told an Oireachtas committee that the risks to financial stability in this country have increased in the last year.
But John Hurley told the Finance and Public Service Committee that Ireland was still well-placed to withstand them. He said the Irish banking sector remained largely unaffected by the turbulence in global markets.
Meanwhile the chief executive of the Financial Regulator told the committee the current turbulence in the international financial markets was significant.
Patrick Neary said it had been going on for more than six months, was still unfolding and looked likely to continue for some time yet.
Mr Neary went on to say that the Financial Regulator had been monitoring domestic institutions very closely and Irish banks had reported no significant direct exposures to US sub-prime mortgages.
There was very limited exposures through investments and credit lines extended to other financial companies, he said.
