Results 2,301-2,320 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (3 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles Bill 2014: Second Stage (3 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State and assure the House that Senator Michael D'Arcy is a valued member of the banking committee. There should be no false modesty over there. I thank the Minister of State and his Department for the support they have given to the inquiry. I hope that he and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, will get something useful in return. I also thank the officials...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Proposed Sale of Aer Lingus: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: Could we have the answer to that question, if we may? It is important as we have to know who is representing Aer Lingus here this morning.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Proposed Sale of Aer Lingus: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome our visitors. The journal.ieopinion poll on this found 58% of respondents against the takeover, 6% against it at the price and 21% in favour. I find the comments of the industry representatives strange, given that they do not reflect what I am picking up. My constituency comprises a substantial number of the diaspora and they are appalled that this is getting such credence. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Proposed Sale of Aer Lingus: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: That is not what happened in Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast, Derry, Cork, Shannon, Knock or Kerry. I do not know where this British Airways growth engine is coming from because, as far as I can see, it is only in Heathrow. It is naive to put the future of a profitable and expanding airline at risk.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Proposed Sale of Aer Lingus: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: Does that not assume we have a level of senior civil servant which simply does not exist at present, in terms of conducting slot negotiations with highly experienced international aviation business people and international airports? Let us be realistic. With the best will in the world, we are not in a position to do that at some theoretical point in the future. That is why I raised the...

Seanad: Regulation of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. I think Senator Norris's amendment is well worth considering on two grounds. This week, at a meeting of Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, we discussed the same issue that we discussed last week. Any lobbying on the matter had to be done in public. During this week's meeting, members of the lobby group that had appeared the previous week, who did not...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome Professor Black. There are approximately 12 references in Professor Black's ten-page paper to Gresham's dynamic. Could he explain that to people watching on television, bearing in mind that here, the Gresham is a very eminent hotel? Even the folks in the hotel may be looking in. Could he explain what he means when he refers to the Gresham?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I thank Professor Black for that.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I expect the people in the hotel will feel much better after that. Could Professor Black explain the concept of PPI abuses - payment protection insurance - and the 80% mark-up for those watching on television?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: One of the things we will be discussing when all the witnesses have gone away is an important recommendation Professor Black makes - that Ireland should not have junked GAAP for IAS 39. It is important for us to understand that change in accounting standards and how Professor Black thinks it contributed to our problems.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I am sure that is something we will come back to. Is there any literature Professor Black has come across that states "No bank should fail"?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I have a final question before the Chairman calls this to a halt. Professor Black's presentation states: "I do not believe any of the purported horrors of increased capital requirements for banks." What would Professor Black have in mind? What percentage of equity should they bring to the scene?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I thank Professor Black.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: I echo the Chairman's welcome to Mr. Nava and his football analogy. Many Irish people will be in Rome this weekend for rugby, and we have many happy memories of Italia '90, even "Toto" Schillaci. We got one back four years later when Ray Houghton got the goal. Terrific friendships were formed at that time, and I join the Chairman in welcoming Mr. Nava here. Mr. Nava also represents a very...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: What does the truthful, risk-free pricing Mr. Nava mentioned mean in application? How do we get better performance from bankers than has been the case heretofore?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: Why has it taken so long, given that the euro was established as a financial currency in 1999 and an actual currency in 2002? It is now 2015. Should these rules not have been in place when the currency was introduced?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: In the context of the 2006 capital requirements directive, we have heard evidence that by that stage in Ireland the damage was already done so the fact that nothing happened between 2000 and 2006 was very serious. In Mr. Nava's presentation he said, with regard to EU directives before the crisis, that "nothing in the directives prevented member states and their national supervisors from...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (5 Feb 2015)

Sean Barrett: Mr. Nava says that nothing prevented national authorities from taking appropriate measures. In retrospect and with hindsight, one might say that it is a pity that there was not somebody saying "By the way, you should ---