Results 8,401-8,420 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: That is my understanding, although I do not know how formal it will be. He will be welcomed to the meeting and, early in its course, asked to state his case. It will be up to him to make a proposal. There will be a Heads of State and Government meeting on Thursday at which the Taoiseach will represent us. On the following Monday there will be the normal monthly Eurogroup meeting. On...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I do not believe the diplomatic démarcheby the Greek Government was successful. People are waiting on Greece to make a proposal to determine whether there can be a development of consensus for negotiating purposes. Different statements have been made in different capitals by the Greek Prime Minister and Finance Minister. The Prime Minister returned home and addressed Parliament on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I do not know; that is a matter for the Greek Government to decide.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Today I am pessimistic.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: From the various reports I am reading in the media and the briefing notes I receive, I do not see a basis for a solution emerging. Many of the proposals emanating are, on the face of it, technically impossible.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: It comes, in the first instance, from the Greek authorities stating what they want. The ECB and the Commission can then respond to this, followed by the views of member states.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: We will know by next Tuesday evening whether it will get worse or better, but I am not in the business of predicting which way it will go.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: There have been problems in a number of European countries. The programme was designed for Ireland and Ireland implemented it, including the vast bulk of the structural reforms in it. Portugal implemented the structural reforms in its programme; Spain implemented the structural reforms in its programme and Cyprus is implementing the structural reforms in its programme. Greece, however, did...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am saying sovereign countries are responsible for running their own affairs and the welfare of their peoples. The Greek authorities, for a number of years, did not take the same actions as the Irish, Portuguese and Spanish authorities. Structural reform was necessary. Greece implemented quite a number of measures and the economy began to grow, but it is faltering. This is the fourth...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Very often the IMF produces commentaries on programme countries, but it has never written off debt anywhere. The IMF programme in Greece runs until May 2016 and, if it wants to help Greece, it can reconstruct its programme for it. Let us talk straight. European countries have supported Greece. Ireland has supported it in a small way because this is also a programme country. There were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: It is not just the rich, it is a lot wider than that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: The theory of taxing the rich never lifted a country. There is a tranche of people who do not pay taxes in Greece and they avoid them if they want, but it is not helpful to get into this blame game. I would like to go to the meeting tomorrow disposed to help Greece if I can. However, there are difficulties.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I do not know if that is Ms Merkel's position. That is what the Deputy is saying, but we will know tomorrow.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: We will know tomorrow what position different countries will take on this issue. What the Deputy is doing is unhelpful. He made a very emotive intervention at the start, talking about stabbing people in the back. If he thinks that will help anyone in Greece, it will not. That does not help anyone in Greece. This is a sensitive issue, and the Deputy should hold his cool while we see how it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I never said we were siding with anybody. I said that we are pursuing our own interests and that our two red lines are no write-downs and that we want to keep Greece in the eurozone.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: That is the opinion of the Minister, Deputy Coveney; it is not the Government's position.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I will tell the Deputy my position, which I outlined to his colleagues earlier. I am going to a meeting tomorrow. I outlined to him our red lines, which are very limited, but I want to hear the Greek proposal. Since I read the election manifesto of the party that is now in power in Greece, there has been no mention by the Greek Prime Minister or Finance Minister, or anybody else in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Some of these are legacy issues. We had six last year and four this year. They are quite predictable. The indicators are the size of the national debt, the amount of personal debt, the level of unemployment and the net balance of payments or international investment position.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: They are in trouble of some kind when one considers the low growth rates and high unemployment levels across Europe. In many of the Mediterranean countries the problem is high levels of unemployment, including in particular youth unemployment. There is no doubt they are real problems.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I fully share the Senator's views on tax evasion and tax avoidance. We are doing a fairly good job in Ireland on eliminating tax evasion. Whenever I get a request from the Revenue Commissioners to plug holes that are being exploited by tax advisers, I legislate to plug those holes. Europe is also making progress on the issue, with automatic exchange of information on deposits in banks....