It has been revealed that there are a total of 149 vacancies at the Central Bank - and 94 of the unfilled roles are in financial regulation.

The numbers were issued to Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Finance, Michael McGrath by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan in a parliamentary reply.

"The data, revealed in this reply, raises a number of important questions about the ability of the Central Bank to effectively regulate existing financial service providers in Ireland and to properly fulfill its consumer protection role," the Fianna Fáil politician said in a statement.

"In addition, the numbers of vacancies in key functional areas across the Central Bank calls into question the capacity of our regulatory system to accommodate financial service firms that may relocate to Ireland from the UK as a result of Brexit," he continued.

Michael Noonan said the bank is "actively recruiting at present, with well over 100 roles advertised."

Michael McGrath highlighted a shortfall of workers scrutinising the insurance sector: "Motorists paying sky high insurance premiums will be taken aback to learn there is a 9% vacancy rate in the area of insurance supervision. A 10% vacancy rate in the area of consumer protection means that consumers of financial service products in Ireland are not getting the protection they deserve and need."

"The Government needs to face up this reality and come up with a plan to tackle this issue so that consumers can be properly protected and the opportunities from Brexit can be fully exploited," he concluded.

Reuters reported last month that officials at the Central Bank will be unlikely to give approval to global investment banks as they could pose an economic threat and it does not have the resources and expertise to regulate some forms of potentially dangerous trading.

According to the news agency, Ireland will be "reluctant" to welcome large-scale investment banking firms who are looking for a new European base.