Results 23,981-24,000 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Bank Guarantee Scheme: Bank Guarantee Scheme (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 to 59, inclusive, together. Promissory notes were provided as consideration for the capital introduced by the State into Anglo. Under the terms of the Anglo (including INBS) promissory notes the State has an obligation to make annual repayments of €3.1 billion per annum. Furthermore the interest rates on the promissory notes, which were set by reference...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the law provides for the seizure of motor vehicles in respect of which Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) offences have been committed. Revenue enforcement officers, who are based at numerous locations around the country, carry out regular and on-going checks to identify and deal with breaches of vehicle registration tax legislation. The vast...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Section 472B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is the legislative basis for the seafarers' allowance. Where the section applies, a deduction of €6,350 is available to a qualifying individual, who is resident in the State, against income arising to him or her from a qualifying employment. A qualifying individual must show that he or she was absent from the State for at least 169 days in...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: The particular information sought by the Deputy is not collected by my Department. Generally, information on the age of a candidate is not part of the candidate information that is collected when promotion competitions take place in the Civil Service. Selection for appointment to posts in the Civil Service (both internal and external) is governed by the Codes of Practice set down by the...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: -----as Deputy Doherty does a fortnight after full explanations of the Bill were given in the Seanad and blame me for his not tabling a single amendment-----

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: -----is a bit rich. Less posing and a little more work would help this House. A little bit more homework and then the Deputy would have everything done. I was asked about the value of the levy. It amounts to €65 million per year, including €40 million in respect of the compensation fund. Using rough mathematics, if one multiplies by ten and adds €40 million, one will get a result...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: There was a charge on the assets in respect of the guarantees. This was legally enforceable by the bondholders. The solvency rules require that assets set aside for solvency requirements are not encumbered. Therefore, the guarantees cannot be used to meet the requirements for reserves set by the Central Bank.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: The State had no involvement in this; it was the administrator in Anglo Irish Bank and the Liberty Mutual group. We are ensuring the compensation fund is adequate to pay for outstanding claims, the vast bulk of which are in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, but some of which are in this jurisdiction. This is the way we fund the insurance compensation fund, and we are following the...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Mr. Dukes is a private citizen.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I have explained to the Deputy already that it was not legally possible to do other than make an arrangement from Anglo Irish Bank's perspective.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: An arrangement worth €264 million was made that was of benefit to the Irish State. If the bondholder arrangement had not been made, we would be required now to make provision for another €264 million to go into the compensation fund. We are not party to any of this. The relationship between Anglo Irish Bank and the Quinn group is a commercial one. Under the relationship framework put...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Doherty's position is that he wants to burn everybody.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: If we take his remarks in context, he now objects to us covering, through the insurance compensation fund, people in Northern Ireland who received their insurance from the Quinn group.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: That is his position.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: The purpose of this-----

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: The purpose of the Bill is to provide money to the insurance compensation fund so the claims of people who are not covered by the Quinn group will be covered. This is what it is about. Deputy Doherty is correct to state the bulk of these are claims in Northern Ireland and other parts of the United Kingdom but not all of them are. However, he seems to be objecting to this, and what I am...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I explained it in detail to Deputy Doherty in so far as it is relevant to this legislation. There is a major advantage in doing things this way in respect of the bondholder, because if it was not done this way I would be here proposing that instead of trying to get something in excess of €700 million into the compensation fund we would be seeking €1 billion for the compensation fund,...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for his question because it finally allows me to speak to the section and explain what is in it. Section 2 introduces a number of new definitions to section 1 of the Insurance Act 1964 and updates the existing definitions for "authorisation", "policy" and "insurer". These will allow the scope of the scheme to be extended to cover all insured risk in the State except for...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: If the business is in the State.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Businesses are excluded.