Results 181-200 of 19,908 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: It is not my normal habit to tell the House about my bedtime reading. Last night I printed out the debate that took place at the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service when the banks attended and thought I was reading something from a different age.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: We need to state the facts bluntly. When the people from the banks were before the committee, they were either not telling the truth or were so incompetent they did not see what was coming down the tracks. Whichever it was, it fills me with fear. I ask the Leader to urge the Government to ensure the same individuals are brought before an emergency sitting of the committee, or some other...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I welcome the Minister at this fine hour. The Bill is unprecedented. The reality is that the Minister for Finance is being forced to bring it before us or else the banking sector in Ireland will be facing what many have admitted is a catastrophe. The Irish banks have a build-up of liabilities on their books due to the backing for and dependence on the construction industry. Consequently,...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I stated these bankers should be brought back before the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service or other similar committee to explain their comments and the scenarios in which we now find ourselves. If they are incompetent, why are they in their jobs? If they lied, that is another matter. The bank representatives should sit down and be interrogated again. They should be told...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: There are a number of actions the Government must take and these should be addressed in the Bill. For example, serious consideration must be given to having State representatives on the boards of the relevant banks in order to ensure that proper practices are put in place to protect taxpayers. That condition should be absolute. Members of the public want to see such a measure put in place...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: ——to make acquisitions during the two-year period for which the guarantee will be in place?

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I will do so. Will acquisitions made by the six banks currently covered by the Bill be covered under the Bill? Will the Minister explain why the guarantee is to be of two years' duration?

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 1: In page 1, before section 1, to insert the following new section: "1.—This Act (other than section 7) shall not come into operation until the Minister has published and laid before each House of the Oireachtas for its approval full particulars of the terms and conditions under section 6(4) including the terms and conditions of any scheme." The Minister will be aware,...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 2: In page 1, before section 2, to insert the following new section: "2.—It shall be a condition of an application under this Act for financial support that an applicant shall agree not to offer to any of its officers or employees any share options during the currency of financial support and to limit the gross annual earnings of any of its officers or employees to not...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 3: In page 1, before section 2, to insert the following new section: "1.—A committee of the National Treasury Management Agency consisting of the chairperson and chief executive of the Agency shall be established to review the remuneration of board members and senior officers and employees of institutions participating in a scheme or arrangement under this Act and shall...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 7: In page 2, subsection (3)(a), lines 29 and 30, to delete "any other Minister of the Government" and substitute the following: "the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service and any other person or body". The Minister is given specific powers in section 5 that during the two-year period he can make regulations he feels necessary and expedite them in...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 11: In page 3, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following subsection: "(2) There shall be an oversight board consisting of 3 persons appointed by the Public Accounts Committee of Dail Eireann being persons of international financial expertise and repute, which shall report every 6 months to that Committee on the operation of this Act.". This amendment proposes the...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 13: In page 3, subsection (4), lines 16 and 17, to delete "or other". This relates to section 6(4), which states: "Financial support may be provided under this section in a form and manner determined by the Minister and on such commercial or other terms and conditions as the Minister thinks fit." The Labour Party amendment seeks to withdraw the word "other" or, at the...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: No.

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 16: In page 3, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following new subsection: "(5) In making a scheme under subsection (4) the Minister may require any specified credit institution to make particular provision to meet the credit requirements of persons on low incomes, and he shall consult with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service in this regard.". In this section we...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 22: In page 3, between lines 29 and 30 to insert the following new subsection: "(6) It shall be a condition of an application under this section that an applicant shall agree that in the event of financial support under this Act being availed of from State resources, the applicant (if a limited company) shall issue shares to the Minister for Finance to a value equivalent...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 23: In page 3, between lines 29 and 39 to insert the following new subsection: "(6) No guarantee under this section shall apply to any business acquired by an applicant after the date of passing of this Act unless the Minister for Finance so directs, or to any liability of a bank acquired on the basis of an interest rate that differed more than one per cent from the...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I move amendment No. 26: In page 4, subsection (15), line 39 to delete "2009 and each year" and substitute "October 2008 and each month". This relates to subsection (15), which states: As soon as practicable after the end of 2009 and each year thereafter, the Minister shall lay a report before each House of the Oireachtas for the purpose of informing the members of each House on the situation...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I would like to be associated with comments expressed by the previous two speakers. I thank the staff of the House and everyone concerned for working so late. I thank the Minister for his dedication and his departmental colleagues for their work. I wish the Minister all the best with the passing of this Bill. It is not a measure with which we wholeheartedly agreed and we ended up voting...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Oct 2008)

Alan Kelly: I agree with the Senators who requested a discussion on the decentralisation programme. While in Clonakilty in west Cork recently, I saw the fine new premises that has been put up for BIM and the wanton waste in that the volume of staff moving into it will be only a fraction of its total employment. It raises questions about the entire programme, which was put in place for the benefactors...