Results 221-240 of 431 for speaker:Lorraine Higgins
- Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: I certainly am. It is high time that we strive for better standards in our criminal justice system. We must work to ensure that justice is seen to be done, not only for the victims but for society as a whole. We are doing an injustice to everyone in the country by not having mandatory sentences for people who commit burglaries. A mandatory, or at least a minimum sentence for burglary...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Regulation (10 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, for taking this matter, which proposes that the Minister for Finance or Central Bank consider granting a new licence to a bank which will concentrate its lending in the farming community. We all remember the Agricultural Credit Corporation, ACC, which was established by the Government in 1927 for the purpose of financing agricultural...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Regulation (10 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome the positive news about the credit being made available to SMEs and the farming community. However, I urge the Government not to concentrate the funds coming from KfW in the two pillar banks. We need choice in the banking system because a responsible banking sector will only come about as a result of competition. We need more...
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: Last May and June I raised two issues in this House relating to practices prevailing at the National Asset Management Agency. One of these was the need for NAMA to review its contracts of employment to prevent the valuable information gleaned by employees of the agency being utilised by them immediately after ceasing employment. In highlighting this issue I referred to a particular...
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: I apologise, a Chathaoirligh. There had been communication with third parties in respect of a customer's loans with NAMA and this was, and is, highly prejudicial to the NAMA customer concerned. I have since found out that this individual-----
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: I do, and I will get to it. I have now found out that this individual is working for the business to which he leaked the information in the first instance-----
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: -----but the public interest element-----
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: -----is that I am fearful the State will be open to a legal action that could potentially amount to millions of euro. There is now an application in the High Court for an injunction in respect of one of these individuals whose information was passed on to a third party by this employee of NAMA. I am fearful about that. I raised this in the House previously and asked the Minister for...
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: -----but I was dismissed on the issue. It was intimated to me by the Minister that I was abusing my parliamentary privilege. Essentially, I was fobbed off, and I have great difficulty with that. This is a massive issue for Irish taxpayers, who will ultimately have to pay. They have paid enough over the last number of years as a result of austerity and corruption in this country. We must...
- Seanad: Credit Reporting Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: Now.
- Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: Given what has evolved in the past two days in respect of the National Asset Management Agency, I am surprised the Minister for Finance has not been brought into the House to explain what precisely is going on. We have to remember that-----
- Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: I wish to make a point. Earlier in the week, NAMA stated that if people had information, they should bring it to the attention of the Garda Síochána. It deliberately muddied the waters in the aftermath of contributions on the agency made by Senator Darragh O'Brien and me in the House. Less than 24 hours after the Senator and I had spoken, the agency reported individuals to the...
- Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: On foot of the revelations in recent days with regard to NAMA's activities-----
- Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: -----it is clear that much of what has happened was facilitated by the veil of secrecy surrounding the agency's operations. It must be remembered that the previous Fianna Fáil Government created NAMA at a cost of billions to Irish taxpayers and yet did not require any transparency or accountability from it.
- Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: These are the facts.
- Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: The National Asset Management Agency Act, which governs the activities of the agency, is severely limited in scope and has helped to create this monster which is being run in a way that is contrary to the public interest. We do not know what deals are being done and nor do we know the identities of those who are buying properties from the agency. It is not right to vest control over private...
- Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: If we fail to do as I have outlined, we will have learnt nothing.
- Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: I raised this matter last week and no one in Fianna Fáil supported me at that stage.
- Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: This is a democracy.
- Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)
Lorraine Higgins: We introduced legislation on whistleblowers. We should listen to them.