Results 281-300 of 431 for speaker:Lorraine Higgins
- Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (7 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: I wish to raise an issue that is quite prevalent during the recession in Ireland; that is, the dependency of some families on moneylenders. Recently in the UK, one moneylender firm was ordered by the regulator there to refund £220 million in debts to 330,000 customers who took out loans that they clearly could not afford to repay. While the scale may be somewhat lower in Ireland,...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Suicide Prevention (7 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: I welcome the Minister and congratulate her on assuming her new portfolio. It is great to see her in this role. This is the first time I have addressed her since she took over at the Department of Education and Skills and I wish her the very best of luck. The Minister will be aware that the level of youth suicide in Ireland is the fifth highest in the European Union, with the figure for 15...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Suicide Prevention (7 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: I thank the Minister for her response. I am delighted to learn about the actions being taken by the Department to promote positive mental health among post-primary students. It is welcome that the Minister has an open mind about the possibility of developing a new course to tackle the scourge of youth suicide. I might liaise with her Department in this regard.
- Seanad: Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: The Senator could put it in a parliamentary question.
- Seanad: Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: I will meet the Senator after the session and explain the force of parliamentary questions and matters on the Adjournment debate if he wants to get answers. I welcome the Minister and thank her for taking this debate on the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014. The Bill is very important legislation which will greatly assist in combatting criminality within borders...
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: The Senator just agreed to. I wish to raise the scandalous profit that was made on a site sold by the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA. It is 1-6 Sir John Rogerson's Quay in Dublin city centre. It was sold by the agency for €7.5 million in June 2013 and was then resold last August for €17.75 million. This undoubtedly calls into question NAMA's strategy of rapidly...
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: That is why we need to engage in a debate with the Minister for Finance with regard to the transparency of loan sales relating to NAMA and on how that agency is conducting its deals.
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: A 136% increase in the price obtained in respect of the resale of a particular site in Dublin is absolutely disgraceful.
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: Who brought in NAMA in the first place? Fianna Fáil brought in NAMA. Those are double standards, Senator Daly.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: It was reported in the national media in recent days that a property sold by NAMA one year ago managed to achieve a 136% increase in price when sold on earlier this year, which is astounding and not reflective of the Irish commercial property price increases that have been recorded in the past year. It raises the question of whether it was sold under value in the first instance and, if so,...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: Would Mr. McDonagh not agree that 136% is an astounding amount for the Irish taxpayer to lose out on?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: It does not make sense.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: I am not from a corporate background but I believe it would make eminent sense when all the forecasts suggest that the Irish property market would improve. Mr. McDonagh said earlier that there were a limited number of these types of property for sale in the Dublin docklands region. Many international investors are considering investing in Ireland. If we take a figure of €7.5...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: I understand it was a year later. It was reported in 2013.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: What month in 2012?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: So it was a year and a half later.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: And an increase of 136%. It is astounding.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: And a huge loss.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: Does Mr. McDonagh not think it is a huge loss to the Irish taxpayer?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: National Asset Management Agency (22 Oct 2014)
Lorraine Higgins: Were there bidders offering more than what was given?