Results 12,541-12,560 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Other Questions: Banking Sector Issues (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: I met the chief executive of RBS. He was accompanied by the chief executive of Ulster Bank. We discussed the future of Ulster Bank. What they stated was consistent with the information I had received from the Governor of the Bank of England. Ulster Bank will continue to trade North and South and try to be a high street bank providing the kinds of service that are needed, but we should...

Other Questions: Banking Sector Issues (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy knows that banks all over the world have lost a great deal of money. RBS suffered very severe losses, as did its subsidiary in Ireland, Ulster Bank. They are all restructuring and trying to be more efficient and to cut costs. As part of the restructuring, Ulster Bank moved the unit to Edinburgh. From a legal or practical point of view, though, this will not affect mortgage...

Other Questions: Tax Code (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: As I indicated in my earlier reply to Deputy Pearse Doherty, the income tax burden is too high and needs to be reduced. However, I have also stated that, although it is my intention to alleviate the burden, I can only do so when the public finances allow it. The general government debt at the end of 2013 is estimated to be just over €200 billion and each year we incur an annual...

Other Questions: Tax Code (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: It is reasonable to adopt different positions based on one's perspective. I am sure that we will hold many discussions on tax over the next two years or so. Many part-time workers are not in the tax net. Some 850,000 workers do not pay income tax because they are not liable for it. Many of those are part-time rather than low-paid workers. This is one starting position. The benefit of...

Other Questions: Tax Code (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: We publish a great deal of data every year and put much of them up on our website. There is also the tax reform group, the papers of which are published.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: I do not disagree with the Deputy's analysis. At the start of a process of this nature, it is helpful if the various financial institutions try out different approaches. Some of these approaches work in theory, but they do not work in practice. One must see them operating in practice. It is the function of the Central Bank to ensure the consistency to which the Deputy refers. It is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: We can work with the Central Bank to ensure the targets which have been set will be reached. The targets for 2014 are reasonably good. I would be concerned if there were to be any slippage in respect of these targets. We will monitor matters very carefully, both in association with the Central Bank and via my Department's own mechanisms, in order to ensure the targets are met.

Other Questions: Banking Sector Issues (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: Ulster Bank Ireland Limited is a regulated entity, licensed pursuant to section 9 of the Central Bank Act 1971. It is also subject to the Central Bank's mortgage arrears resolution targets, MART, process. Ulster Bank's performance in respect of these targets is closely monitored and the Central Bank's MART audits examine the bank's processes of determining and proposing sustainable...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Code (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: I cannot get into the details of a budget that will not occur until next October because I am only thinking about initial concepts for it. It is not fruitful to have some kind of detailed debate here. What I was pointing out was that any tax changes that will take place in any budget I introduce will be driven by considerations of growing the economy and employment. I also pointed out that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Code (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: I acknowledge that there are differences of opinion about this. The next budget at a headline level must have an adjustment of €2 billion so it is not that we are flush with money to give away. What I am trying to do is put the debate into a space where we are not trying to endear ourselves to the electorate or do pre-election things. What I am saying is that we will be consistent...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: As statutory regulator of credit institutions, the Central Bank has the power, from both a prudential and consumer protection perspective, to require banks to meaningfully address mortgage arrears cases on their books. Durable long-term restructures will have to be applied having regard to the circumstances of individual cases. The Deputy will be aware that the Central Bank's mortgage...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Debt (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: If one was only selling a patch of ground down the country, one would know that the more conditions that were attached, the greater the potential for a reduction in value. That is the general point. I am not saying we will be sued, I am saying there is a legal risk. Therefore, it is much better not to interfere with the sales process and make sure the purchaser complies with all...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Debt (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: Yes, I agree.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Debt (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: That is not the point I am making.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Debt (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The liquidator's job under law is to recover as much value as he can for the creditors. In this case, 70% of the creditors by value are Irish taxpayers. With regard to the €60 billion or so invested across the banks, what we are trying to do is recover some of the value for the taxpayer and this is one of the key parts. That is the opening position. The liquidator is independent...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Code (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy will be aware that I am on record as stating my belief the income tax burden is too high in Ireland and that it needs to be reduced. However, I have also said that, although it is my intention to alleviate the burden, I can only do so when the public finances allow it. Lest it has escaped anybody's attention, the general Government debt at the end of 2013 was estimated to be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: State Banking Sector (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: First of all, I do not believe the Irish banks require extra capital, but we would like to recover some of the capital that we had already invested in the recapitalisation in March and April 2011. We are pursuing a number of things in parallel, and the movements do not contradict each other. One way to get some of the money that we invested in 2011 back from European sources would be for a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Debt (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 5 together. I am fully aware of the concerns raised by residential mortgage holders of IBRC whose loans are currently being sold by the special liquidators. The issue around the continued applicability of the various protections afforded to mortgage customers is legally very complex and requires careful consideration. As indicated previously, my...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Debt (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: That is not the way I see it. Quite clearly the process is complex, and it is in the hands of an independent liquidator who is operating in accordance with the law. The taxpayer comes into this as well. The job of the liquidator is to get as much value for the taxpayer as he can. While those in the Opposition seem to stress the interests of the mortgage holders, and rightly so, they...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Debt (20 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: -----although not by the Deputy, who has always handled this responsibly. If I were to attach additional conditions to the mortgage book at the point of sale, there is a possibility that I would be legally challenged on the argument that that might reduce the value of the book. I would be leaving myself open to challenge by other creditors, and there are many other creditors in the bank. ...