Results 2,561-2,580 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Sean Barrett: For what is the €30 million needed? In transport there are no economies of scale; small is beautiful, and transport policy should not be focused on size in terms of scale. People can build up a reputation but the requirement to start with €30 million worth of buses parked outside seems to be wrong. We had that when a man by the name of Patton was operating a service from...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: The campaign for the elections to the United Kingdom Parliament has started. Could I ask that all of Northern Ireland be represented in Westminster because at present Fermanagh-South Tyrone, Mid-Ulster, and West Belfast are not? Sinn Féin is playing a valuable role in Stormont. It has the Speaker, the Deputy First Minister and many other Ministries. It represents Ireland, both North...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Chairman and welcome Mr. Moran. Are the fees that Jones Lang LaSalle get in any way related to the amount of the valuation?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: There is no incentive to talk up-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: The evidence to us has been that commercial property is much more volatile than residential and was a cause of the instability we are investigating here. Why does Mr. Moran think that is?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Mr. Moran told the committee that Ireland had the second highest shopping stock per head in Europe. Was that a bubble mentality?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Yes.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: If we had a fire sale when this happened rather than NAMA where would be now in terms of Mr. Moran's industry?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Did tax breaks exacerbate the situation?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: With the bargains that were available until fairly recently, did we need to get involved in real estate investment trusts and the fiscal privilege attached to them?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome Ms Hunt and thank her for the material that she sent us. At the end of the first paragraph on page 3 she stated. "Irish CRE generated average ungeared total returns of over 16.4% per annum in the period 1976 to 2006 (proving that commercial real estate is a long-term investment)". A percentage of 16.4% was sustained for 30 years which leaves me wondering did we...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Should we have been talking to pension funds and not banks? Is that the implication of what Ms Hunt has said?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Yes.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Let us take a look at figure 2 in Ms Hunt's statement. One can see they doubled their money between 2001 and 2007 and then lost one third which meant they were still two thirds up. Should that have been pointed out to the sector when they sought a bailout?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Yes, figure 2 of Ms. Hunt's presentation shows a gradual percentage increase of 8%, 2%, 12% and the remainder of increases. In the last year there was a loss of 34% but it had doubled its money in the previous spell.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: The information for figure 3 was sourced from Mr. Hoyt.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Ms Hunt mentioned how quickly the adjustment took place. Is the model, which has been built over 100 years, far too slow? Figure 3 shows that when real estate peaks at stage 7 it takes five more stages before the banks reverse their boom policy on loans. That means what happened in Ireland was a quicker reaction than the 100-year study.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: Figure 4 shows about a quarter of the investment took place in Ireland and three quarters overseas which means no assets were created, within the territory of this State, as a result of what happened in that peak year. Is my interpretation correct ?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: On the last page of Ms Hunt's presentation she stated, "We believed that the Irish banks were well funded," a point which she has covered, "and that borrowers were being sufficiently stress-tested". What would she put into a stress test, by an Irish bank, of its borrowers?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (2 Apr 2015)

Sean Barrett: The last section of Ms Hunt's presentation is entitled lessons for the future. She stated that government intervention in the property market was largely done in the absence of any engagement whatsoever with the property industry. Our evidence would be that the property industry never stops lobbying and tops the list seeking tax breaks, along with farmers. In fact, the property industry...