Results 3,101-3,120 of 10,460 for speaker:Gerry Horkan

Seanad: National Archives (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I thank the Minister. I believe I was in the Chair last week when we were doing Committee Stage and I just happen to be here when we are doing Report Stage and Final Stage. I congratulate the Minister and her officials in getting the Bill passed in such an efficient manner, and I thank all of the Members for their participation. I believe the Minister will be back next week in the Seanad...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I thank Ms McDonagh and her team for the opening statement and the questionnaire. The housing market is a very important part of what Ireland is looking at but equally it is a very important part of what Bank of Ireland is doing. Ms McDonagh mentioned the 3,000 units and 1,700 places in student accommodation and the work on 160 sites. What else can be done by Bank of Ireland to help to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: Is there anything else that the bank can do to help improve the supply, or does Ms McDonagh feel the bank is doing everything possible within its remit?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: Ms McDonagh referred to additional staff on the front line, reducing the hierarchy and making it a simpler structure. There are 265 locations and Ms McDonagh said the number of full service branches was to go from 61 to 164. Is it the case that originally all 265 locations were full service branches, that this dropped down to 61 and is going back up to 164 branches? Is this a fair...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: Is that service available all day every day?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: To clarify, the bank has not made 265 branches cashless. I accept that the word is not "cashless" and that it is automated transactions. The branches that were short-term cash transactions are now offering all-day cash transactions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I acknowledge that Startlab and the FDI hubs are very good and the Montrose branch, which is my branch, has certainly become a transformed entity compared with what it was. It is certainly used by community groups, students and start-up businesses. It is very good. I have complimented the bank on it before and I will again. With regard to IT investment, I believe a figure of €900...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I believe that the use of cheques is nearly gone. What percentage of transactions is still by cheque and do the witnesses see the economy eventually being rid of cheques altogether?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: When Mr. Richie Boucher was before the committee, I asked him about this and he said that Irish people like to use cash. It was just something we had to get over. Cash transactions are costly and expensive and there are security issues when moving cash around. Is there a policy on this? Is Bank of Ireland trying to get people to move away from cash and more towards contactless...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I welcome the opening of the cultural centre yesterday. I have not yet been down to it, I must have a look at it. Is it to be given or lent to the State for a number of years? Perhaps Ms McDonagh will outline what is involved there.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I will be brief. Deputy Michael McGrath has covered a good deal of the cost reduction issues. Ms McDonagh referred to Bank of Ireland's non-performing loan exposure being reduced by 75% in the last several years. How was that done? Was it achieved by restructuring, write-offs or moving people to a different process? How much of it was achieved by write-offs, how much was restructuring...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: Does Ms McDonagh have a breakdown of the reduction between write-offs and restructuring? If all those people were not performing and now they are no longer in that category, what happened?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Bank of Ireland (5 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I thank Ms McDonagh.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I am conscious that we are only speaking to a relatively short section of less than one A4 page. Section 10 contains provisions for membership of the commission and the general functions. I am not going to labour too much on GRECO as many other people have made the points about it. As we know, the Attorney General referred to the Bill as a dog's dinner. I had better disclose that I happen...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: He is still the sponsoring Minister. I do want to address the whole idea of the lay majority. I was privileged to be nominated as one of the few lay members of the Dental Council in 2010 by the then Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan. That board involves fees of zero, by the way, before anybody starts to worry about how much I was getting paid. It was on Merrion Square so I never even claimed...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: I will try to keep going while I can before another quorum is called. The point I am making is that the idea that an appointments commission involving judges should have a lay majority is grossly disrespectful to the legal profession generally. I do not like the idea of having lots of people who might not know much about judges or judicial appointments as opposed to people who do it for a...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: Is it section 10 or 11?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: Can I clarify that? Is Senator McDowell clarifying the difference, if any, between the PAS and the PAC?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: But it does in this legislation, is that what you are saying?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Gerry Horkan: As no other Senators wish to contribute, I will call the Minister. Before I do, however, I remind him that we must suspend at 6 p.m.