Results 2,941-2,960 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: That is fair enough, Mr. McDonald is not the first witness to express that view. Does he believe the funding mechanism which existed for local government prior to the collapse had an impact on some of the zoning decisions mentioned in his earlier evidence, and an impact on the subsequent collapse? Does the witness have a view as to how local government might be funded properly?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: In his statement and in much of his writing the witness focuses on the relationship between developers, builders, government, politicians and decisions which were made. Does he believe a wider constituency of people and professions outside, including the media itself, were willing participants or beneficiaries of the explosion in house prices prior to the collapse?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: Partly, but I am just asking the witness for his own view.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: Did the witness voice those concerns himself internally at the time? Did he express those views?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: I know he was writing publicly, but did he express those concerns internally?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: I want to change tack because I do not want to put the witness personally on the spot about his own views. We had Dr. Peter Bacon in with the committee last week. He is the author of some very well known reports on the housing sector. He is of the view that the property market in Ireland was too much dominated by internal forces. He expressed strongly the view there were not enough...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: I have two brief final questions. In his book The Builders, co-authored with Kathy Sheridan, the witness details the careers of many of the largest developers and builders in Ireland prior to the crisis. Can the witness outline briefly how he would describe their approach to business? Does he believe that their entrepreneurial approach had an impact on the subsequent boom in prices and the...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: Was there an appreciation among those builders and developers of the risks they were taking on, particularly towards the end of the boom period, in terms of the huge sums of money that were being borrowed, often from multiple institutions, as Mr. McDonald mentioned? Or was there a belief, as he touched on in his statement, that this was just going to continue, that these people had always...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (24 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: 736. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is satisfied that adequate frameworks have been put in place by the authorities in Gaza to administer the funding promised by international donors at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference, which took place in Cairo in Egypt in October 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11275/15]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (24 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: 737. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his assessment of the security situation inside Gaza, following his visit, and in particular his views following reports on British Broadcasting Corporation News (details attached) on 26 February 2015 which interviewed members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad who claimed another war with Israel was planned; and if he will make a statement on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (24 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: 738. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the mechanisms in place to ensure that building materials entering Gaza are not used to construct tunnels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11277/15]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (24 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: 739. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the impact the conflict in Syria and Iraq is having on the security situation in Lebanon, in particular with reference to the fact that Irish troops are participating in peacekeeping operations in southern Lebanon and in the Golan Heights region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11278/15]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (24 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: 808. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the significant delays impacting on the planned development of a much-needed extension to a second level school (details supplied) in County Dublin, resulting in a shortage of second level school places in the local catchment area; if she will provide an updated timeframe for the delivery of the extension; and if she will make a...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Peace Commissioners Data (25 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: 111. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide a list of the current Peace Commissioners resident in County Kilkenny; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12237/15]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (25 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: 166. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current position regarding the status of extension works approved at a school (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12238/15]

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: I welcome Dr. Mercille to the meeting. I have a couple of questions for him arising out of his statement in which he criticises very strongly the Irish media for its opposition to default on sovereign debt. What in Dr. Mercille's view are the immediate consequences for a country that defaults on its national debt?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: My second question relates to the point made by Dr. Mercille in his statement that scholarship on sovereign debt reveals that countries that decide to cancel the repayments of their debt typically suffer only short-term economic costs. Does Dr. Mercille think that people in Argentina and Greece believe they have typically suffered only short-term economic costs?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: What about Argentina?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: It is a serious image.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

John Paul Phelan: Fair enough. I grew up running around after cows in Kilkenny, although not with a machete. In Dr. Mercille's view, what section of Irish society would have suffered the most if we had gone the Argentinian route?