Results 3,001-3,020 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Mr. Dukes is a private citizen.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I have explained to the Deputy already that it was not legally possible to do other than make an arrangement from Anglo Irish Bank's perspective.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: An arrangement worth €264 million was made that was of benefit to the Irish State. If the bondholder arrangement had not been made, we would be required now to make provision for another €264 million to go into the compensation fund. We are not party to any of this. The relationship between Anglo Irish Bank and the Quinn group is a commercial one. Under the relationship framework put...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Doherty's position is that he wants to burn everybody.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: If we take his remarks in context, he now objects to us covering, through the insurance compensation fund, people in Northern Ireland who received their insurance from the Quinn group.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: That is his position.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: The purpose of this-----

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: The purpose of the Bill is to provide money to the insurance compensation fund so the claims of people who are not covered by the Quinn group will be covered. This is what it is about. Deputy Doherty is correct to state the bulk of these are claims in Northern Ireland and other parts of the United Kingdom but not all of them are. However, he seems to be objecting to this, and what I am...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I explained it in detail to Deputy Doherty in so far as it is relevant to this legislation. There is a major advantage in doing things this way in respect of the bondholder, because if it was not done this way I would be here proposing that instead of trying to get something in excess of €700 million into the compensation fund we would be seeking €1 billion for the compensation fund,...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for his question because it finally allows me to speak to the section and explain what is in it. Section 2 introduces a number of new definitions to section 1 of the Insurance Act 1964 and updates the existing definitions for "authorisation", "policy" and "insurer". These will allow the scope of the scheme to be extended to cover all insured risk in the State except for...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: If the business is in the State.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Businesses are excluded.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Yes, it is excluded also.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Yes.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Yes.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: It came into force in 1991.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: This is a technical provision which makes a number of minor cross-referencing changes to section 2 of the Insurance Act 1964 consequential on the amendments made in this Bill. The purpose of this is to ensure the legislation holds together after these amendments have been made.

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: Section 4 replaces section 3 of the Insurance Act 1964 and introduces three new sections: 3A on the application by the liquidator of an insolvent insurer; 3B on an application where the insurer in liquidation is an insurer authorised in another member state; and 3C on the payments out of the fund where an administrator is appointed. These provisions are designed to facilitate payments out of...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I will deal with the 65% question first and then the 70% one. The purpose of an insurance compensation fund in a liquidation situation is to provide a certain minimum level of protection to policyholders. There is a need to strike a balance between what policyholders will receive in compensation and what the cost of such payments will be, as ultimately funding for such compensation will be...

Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Sep 2011)

Michael Noonan: I do not think anybody is being treated unfairly because there is a compensation fund in the UK as well. A company in Northern Ireland would have access to the UK fund, so I do not think we need to be too concerned about that. I do not think there are considerations of State aid in this. As I said already, the EU is considering a compensation fund which would apply throughout the Community.