Results 20,981-21,000 of 26,793 for speaker:David Cullinane

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Rent Controls (17 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: 40. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce an amendment to the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill to provide for rent certainty in view of the recent data from a company (details supplied) which shows ever increasing rental costs. [35439/16]

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: I welcome the deputy First Minister to today's hearing. He will be aware that we have held many hearings and heard from many witnesses, including the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, the NAMA chairman, Mr. Frank Daly, Mr. Brian Rowntree, an external member of the NIAC, and officials from the Department of Finance. We are trying to establish the facts as the people who appear before us...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: I accept that-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Mr. McGuinness has put that on the record, so we know there were tensions in respect of the Maze site and other issues. That is fine and we understand that. What I am trying to understand is, if Mr. McGuinness believed that he was locked out of important meetings to do with this loan sale under Project Eagle - which were not about the Maze - surely he would have given consideration to the...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: But asking oneself the question-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: I am sorry, but asking oneself the question and asking the question of those who were excluding one are two different things. Did Mr. McGuinness put questions to anyone in the DUP, be it the then Minister for Finance and Personnel or Mr. McGuinness' colleague, the former First Minister? Mr. McGuinness asked himself a question, but did he ask those individuals about why he had been excluded?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: But the question I was asking was not about that. I appreciate that important point but, in his opening statement, Mr. McGuinness referenced a number of times - in fact, almost his entire opening statement centred around this issue - engagements and meetings of which he was not aware. We are trying to understand this from our perspective. Regardless of what might be in Mr. McGuinness'...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: The witness has clarified that. Mr. Rowntree was the second external member of the Northern Ireland advisory committee, NIAC, and was a very helpful witness for the committee. He spoke about a University of Ulster study carried out into the assets in the North. It was his view at the time that the entire NAMA strategy for the assets in the North was to work out the assets over time and...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Mr. McGuinness understands it. Mr. Rowntree would not have been aware of this when he was here but we now know PIMCO did not make a blind approach to NAMA. It did so on the basis of discussions that took place. It was approached by a Mr. Coulter of Tughans legal firm, Brown Rudnick, and also Mr. Frank Cushnahan, who at the time was a board member of the NIAC. We know that is the case and...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: I want to bring it back to what Mr. McGuinness knew. We will speak to those individuals as they come in. Mr. McGuinness's opening statement spoke about various combinations of meetings and engagements that took place between the Minister, Deputy Noonan, Northern DUP Ministers, NAMA, Cerberus and PIMCO. We know all sorts of engagements took place and there was one conference call with which...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: I wish to ask a question of the deputy First Minister for clarification purposes. When Frank Daly, the chair of NAMA, was before the committee he was questioned a number of times about why NAMA did not move sooner to remove Mr. Cushnahan from his role, he cited political sensitivities. He said:[...] removing Mr. Cushnahan from the committee before his resignation in November 2013 would have...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: The second point I wanted clarification on relates to when the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, was before the committee. He responded to questions from Deputy Alan Kelly about the change in the sale strategy from the asset base one to the loan sale one. Deputy Alan Kelly asked:Does the Minister accept that the Executive suddenly changed tack? From being worried about a fire sale, it...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: I thank Mr. McGuinness.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Minor Works Scheme (15 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: 212. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the minor works grant for a school (details supplied) is due to be paid in November 2016; if his attention has been drawn to the concern the uncertainty is causing in relation to the staff, students and parents of the school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34511/16]

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: That is a good idea. I know we have the NAMA CEO and chairperson coming before us again. However, the response that we have received back from PIMCO contradicts some of what the NAMA board members said when they were here, most specifically, the NAMA legal team and the people who were involved on NAMA's side in those conference calls. There is currently no plan to have them before the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Once the Cathaoirleach reads it into the record, if there are further questions for PIMCO-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: We might want PIMCO to clarify some matters and we should be in a position to ask those questions.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Perfect.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Will we be discussing the legal opinion we received on whether the sales process could have been suspended?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: On the follow up from a number of organisations, this is most important piece of correspondence we have received. It is illuminating and joins up many dots. It clearly contradicts evidence we were given from NAMA. That is very worrying, as it casts doubt on much of what was said to us in the evidence presented by NAMA in respect of what happened when it was made aware of the success or...