Results 20,001-20,020 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: IBRC Operations (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: In relation to the perceived conflict of interest highlighted by the Deputy, I am unable to comment on the directorships of third party purchasers of loan assets. However, I can confirm that the Special Liquidators devised and ran a competitive sales process, following the receipt of independent advice, for all loan assets of IBRC which they have sold. The SLs appointed PwC as...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy will be aware that the Minister for Finance has no direct function in the relationship between banks and their customers and in relation to the banking decisions made by individual lending institutions at any particular time.  Such decisions are taken by the board and management of the institution and I cannot get involved in individual cases between a Bank and its customers....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: IBRC Loans (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I wish to advise the Deputy that, through ministerial representations, I have corresponded with those persons whose details are attached to this parliamentary question. In relation to loan assets purchased by third party purchasers, neither I or the Special Liquidators are able to comment on the intentions and/or the subsequent actions of these third party purchasers once the loan...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Deposit Guarantee Scheme (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS) provides protection of up to €100,000 per saver per credit institution, including credit unions. The scheme gives confidence to depositors that their money is safe in the event that a financial institution gets into financial difficulty. Directive 2014/49/EU is a new Directive in relation to the D GS which is being transposed into Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: Since 16 October 2013, tax relief for medical insurance premiums has been restricted to the first €1,000 per adult and the first €500 per child insured. Any portion of premium paid in excess of these ceilings no longer qualifies for tax relief.  Prior to this, income tax relief for medical insurance premiums was provided at source, at the standard rate of income tax, on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Acting Chairman and committee members for inviting me to address them in advance of the next ECOFIN Council of Ministers meeting, which will take place on Friday, 19 June, in Luxembourg. This will be the final ECOFIN Council under the Latvian Presidency. While there are already indications that the agenda before the committee will change, it is a useful opportunity to discuss...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: The committee invited me to brief it on-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: -----Friday's ECOFIN meeting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I briefed it on that meeting on the basis of the agenda that was agreed up to yesterday, even though some items have fallen off of it. The only way that the ECOFIN Council will discuss Greece is in terms of a report by the president of the Eurogroup, which he will provide at the start of the meeting. He will report on what happened at the Eurogroup meeting. It is the Eurogroup that will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: The "too big to fail" phrase came from an analysis of the American response to the collapse of Lehman Brothers. It became the conversation point, in that people believed that banks were too big to fail. The American authorities then allowed Lehman Brothers to fail. The phrase has no legal status and no bank in Europe is too big to fail. What is being done here is so that banks can be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: If the investment bank goes down, that is the business of the shareholders and the bank owners. There will be no crossing. It is an improvement and limits the potential liability of a European bank resolution fund. This is my understanding of the approach. I have given the committee the headline figures. The first shot at a definition-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: Yes, and the transactions over €7 million and so on. We are generally supportive of that proposal even though we may decide that we would like a change of limits in a downward direction. However, it does not apply to Irish banks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: No.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: Yes. There is a resolution fund in Europe.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: Yes, but-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: It can, but the contributions are phased over a ten-year period in instalments. As it moves along, an increasing proportion of the resolution fund gets mutualised. Early on, one only has access to what one contributes and a bit of the residue. As the fund gets mutualised, the full fund becomes available on a pan-European basis to banks that fail.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: To go back a bit, I wish to make it clear that there are two issues involved in the bank resolution issue. It is different from the bank structural reform, which is not primarily driven by considerations of resolution. A structural reform is taking place separately from the other consideration.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: While I was checking that situation, the Deputy asked a question. The Commission has withdrawn the proposal. There is not sufficient agreement on it to bring it to the political side. It is clear that a common approach is not possible. I will alert the committee at one of our briefing sessions if the proposal returns. At the moment, though,-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: Not only is it off the agenda, it looks like a dead duck.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I have great sympathy for the Greek people. They have suffered a great deal for a long time. They have experienced a level of suffering that we did not even though our community had to make many sacrifices. This is the first point that I would make. I have great regrets that Greece, which was on the cusp of recovery at the start of 2015, has returned to recession. On the hopes of an...