Results 3,741-3,760 of 16,285 for speaker:Peadar Tóibín

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The Government -----

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Heritage Sites (26 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 78. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views with the condition of the Loughcrew cairns. [3537/23]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (26 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 116. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps being taken to ensure that house building in 2023 does not decrease. [3536/23]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Development (26 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 121. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the Government’s plan for the future of Moore Street. [3535/23]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: My first question concerns the inflation rate. There are different types of inflation. The main types are demand-pull inflation and cost-push inflation. Typically, increases in interest rates are best suited to demand-pull inflation. In other words, they are used to cool down demand and thereby get control of the inflation rate. What we have in this State is in many ways cost-push...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: Is there any analysis of the proportion or the balance between the two? When we have a political debate many in the Government will put inflation down to issues such as the war in Ukraine, or difficulties with the energy supply. They are seen as the two big elements driving inflation. Does the Central Bank have any analysis of the proportion of inflation created by the supply side?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I appreciate the answer, but I am trying to see if there is any quantitative analysis in the contribution cost-push inflation has had. Can we say that 30% of the inflation that now exists stemmed from restrictions in the aggregate supply of goods into the sector. That has a number of policy results. If it is significantly cost-push an interest rate increase is less useful and more punitive.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I would greatly appreciate that. I think it is important. I am exaggerating here, but if most of our inflation is coming from the restricted supply of gas and other fuels then you can put interest rates up all day long and it is not going to make much difference to the inflation rate coming from those sources.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: That is interesting because it is contrary to the political narrative in the State. The other issue I want to briefly touch on is one that is seldom discussed. Has any analysis been done by the Central Bank on the effect Covid restrictions had on interest rates? Obviously, we had a real illness and at times the Government had to deal with that and protect people with restrictions....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: There are a couple of things there. It is very important that we have an Irish-wide analysis. European-wide analysis is fantastic but it is really important that we have analysis of the Irish experience specifically. We have had negative experiences with interest rates being set by the European Union. European Union interest rates led in significant part to our property bubble that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: Very good. In relation to the issues of the vulture funds and the interest rates they are charging, Mr. Madouros mentioned the code earlier. The code is a mechanism by which it is understood that we can make sure that vulture funds are adhering to Irish regulations. Is there any lever currently in place in the code to force the vulture funds to stop charging interest rates that are 2%, 3%...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: From a legislative perspective, that is an incredibly weak position by the State, given the approximately 100,000 people who are in the hands of the vulture funds. In many ways, the previous Governments have created a system to force these individuals into the vulture funds' accounts. There is currently a two-tier mortgage system in Ireland. Some people have mortgage interest rates of 3%...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: Yet, it does not have any tool to deal with the two-tier mortgage system that currently exists.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: There is tiering of price. Everybody can see that there are two markets now in terms of interest rates that are being charged. There is one among the traditional banks and there is another among vulture funds. Is that not correct? There are two tiers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I thank Mr. Kincaid for that. I do not want to be pernickety in relation to this, but I said there is a two-tier market for interest rates. That is not mutually exclusive from everything Mr. Kincaid said afterwards. Indeed, everything he said afterwards does not disagree with that sentence. Our mortgage rate has a two-tier nature. Many people went through extraordinary difficulties after...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The rules allow it, but in reality, it does not happen, then-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: How does one work that out on a micro level? For example, a woman rang me recently who had a split mortgage and a chunk was warehoused. She was paying €600 per month and then her mortgage went up to €950, which is impossible for her to pay. She has contacted me in relation to that. How do people in this scenario become noticeable to the Central Bank of Ireland to ensure that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I am conscious that I will probably be getting outside of my time limit soon. I have two final small questions. Out of the 38,000 mortgage holders Mr. Kincaid mentioned, honestly, I cannot imagine the majority of those people will be knowledgeable enough to understand that that is the process. It seems to me that there is a reactive policy by the Central Bank to say, "Well, if people come...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Economic Issues: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (25 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The Sparkasse banking system is understood to be similar to public banking.

Forestry Sector: Motion [Private Members] (24 Jan 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The history of forestry in Ireland is wrapped up in many ways with the history of the Irish people. We were heavily deforested by the British as part of centuries of colonial asset stripping and now, as a result, we are one of the least forested countries in Europe. This has obviously damaged Ireland immeasurably and we are a poorer country as a result. It is quite ironic, therefore, that...