Results 33,181-33,200 of 34,956 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: That is a very good suggestion and we will certainly take it on board as part of our work on competition. To take the example of any county, if there are 40 towns and villages in the Tidy Towns competition and they all have to insure equipment, people who do work and different considerations like that, there would be tremendous value if they were to come together as a group because they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I want to wait for the Central Bank report. That was a judicious statement by that lady on television the other night. In that market there are winners and losers. The winners are the people who shop around and get the best price. The losers are the people who lose out financially by not shopping around and they probably pay more than they should. We are looking at the option of banning...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: In the programme for Government and the action plan produced last week, we gave a commitment to get the Central Bank report and to make a policy decision then rather than ahead of time. I am not saying we cannot look at the matter but there is no commitment to draft legislation in advance of receipt of that report.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I did not say that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: The Senator is surmising. When we see the Central Bank report, we will be able to move immediately.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: That issue is being dealt with in consultation with An Garda Síochána. Commissioner Harris has indicated that rather than establishing stand-alone operations in each of the 17 divisions, he wants one national approach which will involve training and guidance for police officers in each of the divisions. The structure will be based centrally within An Garda Síochána....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: There is a Cabinet committee on economic development and employment which consists of five Cabinet Ministers chaired by the Tánaiste. It has a subgroup which also includes myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Troy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: It met in July, November and December.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: No, it met in July.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: We had an informal meeting in July to get it up and running.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: Yes. There were informal meetings of the people who are involved.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I will respond briefly now. Deputy Barry asked about insurance. The gross premiums issued in the year in question was €1.4 billion and profit was 10% of that, or €142 million. If the Deputy believes the core of the problem with the insurance industry is the 10% profit, I disagree. The core of the problem lies with the other 90%, the costs, because the number and cost of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I will do so, and I will also respond to the Chairman's questions.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (17 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and hopefully the debate will help clarify some of the issues raised by him which have caused legitimate confusion earlier on in the scheme. The CRSS is a targeted support for businesses significantly impacted by restrictions introduced by the Government under public health regulations to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The support is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (17 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: By way of information, so the public watching will be aware of the current position, up to yesterday 15,000 businesses had registered for the scheme, covering 17,900 premises. A total of 2,400 new applications have been received in the past day or so. Claims totalling €111.6 million in respect of 15,300 premises have been received, and €110 million has already been processed...

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020: Motion (3 Feb 2021)

Seán Fleming: I welcome this debate and thank the 20 Deputies who contributed to it, covering a large number of issues. In the first instance, everybody recognises that the wage subsidy schemes, the earlier one and the current one, have been a central pillar of the Government's response to the economic impact of Covid-19 by supporting viable firms and encouraging employment. To that end, it is an...

Insurance (Restriction on Differential Pricing and Profiling) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (17 Feb 2021)

Seán Fleming: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “That” and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Insurance (Restriction on Differential Pricing and Profiling) Bill 2021 be deemed to be read a second time this day nine months, to allow for greater analysis of the complex issues concerned following the publication of the Central Bank’s...

Banking Sector: Statements (3 Mar 2021)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to discuss banking matters here this evening. As the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has touched on, this debate, like so many others, is now set against the backdrop of Covid-19. Covid-19 is the most significant shock the banking system has faced since the financial crash of over a decade ago. Nevertheless, the banking reforms introduced...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Value Added Tax (8 Mar 2021)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Senator for raising this important issue this morning. I listened carefully to everything she said. The Senator seems to be knowledgeable of VAT regulations in Ireland and the UK and I want to thank her for the excellent presentation of the case. However, as the Senator may be aware, Ireland is the only country in the EU that applies a 0% VAT rate to period products such as...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Value Added Tax (8 Mar 2021)

Seán Fleming: I again thank the Senator. I will take on board, and take back to the Department of Finance, the issue of the luxury rate on incontinence pads. I know they can be a very heavy cost for many families. We all know, through our work as local public representatives, community nurses regularly provide substantial amounts of incontinence pads, through the HSE, to patients in their areas that...