Results 3,621-3,640 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Fiscal Policy (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: Forecasting is always an inexact science. What we have to do is to use the best information available to come to a judgment on what growth rates may be in the following year. It is generally recognised in the European Union that Ireland has now returned to significant growth rates which are at present in advance of those of most of our colleague countries in the EU. The Deputy is probably...

Fiscal Policy (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: I do not agree with the Deputy that the Department of Finance has erred on the side of optimism in recent years. It has been close enough to the average in its forecasts. Sometimes it has been slightly above and sometimes below. It predicted a growth rate of 0.8% in 2011 and it has now marked up this rate to 1%. This makes it easier at year's end because if one considers the correction...

Banking Sector Regulation (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: I welcome the decision by the majority of lenders to reduce their standard variable rates following the recent announcement by the European Central Bank and I encourage all lenders to follow suit. Such a reduction will be of benefit to home owners struggling with mortgage payments. The Government wants the lending institutions to pass on the interest rate cut for several reasons. In...

Banking Sector Regulation (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy will be aware, the ECB is not the only source of funding for banks in this jurisdiction. A lot of their funding comes from their deposit bases and they provide a variety of interest rates to attract deposits. If one looks at the logic of this, the only reason the ECB reduces interest rates is that it fears Europe may be sliding into recession and as a consequence it wants to...

Banking Sector Regulation (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: Sinn Féin historically has a different approach to getting people to do what it wants them to do than our party would have. The Deputy Governor set out his position-----

Banking Sector Regulation (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: He is also independent in the exercise of his functions, which is important to remember. We will continue our contact with the Deputy Governor. It has proved very effective up to now. He has a range of powers at his disposal. He said he is not seeking new powers at the current time. We will see how the situation develops over the coming weeks.

EU-IMF Programme (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: It has always been my position in regard to the payment of unguaranteed unsecured senior bonds that, given the significant cost of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, IBRC, formerly known as Anglo Irish Bank, to the State and the taxpayer, that the burden of the debt should be shared with bondholders. However, if we were to suspend payments to creditors in IBRC this would have a...

EU-IMF Programme (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: Most of what the Deputy said is not correct. Our position, in reply to questions such as this, has always been to set out various hypotheses. The hypothesis I set out last week was that if the EU-IMF deal was withdrawn by the European authorities and the IMF, we would need to make an adjustment, which at present will take more than five years, all in one year. That is where the €18...

EU-IMF Programme (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy is like other Opposition Deputies who always insist on half-quoting me. I never said it was Fine Gael policy in government to burn bondholders. I said it was Fine Gael policy in government to burden-share or burn bondholders provided we got the consent of the European Central Bank to do so. I campaigned on that basis right through opposition and through the general election...

EU-IMF Programme (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: That bank's consent was not forthcoming. It is as blunt as that. No one is trying to hide anything from the Deputy. The European Central Bank's consent was not forthcoming.

EU-IMF Programme (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: In answer to what I believe will happen, I was here for five months listening to people shouting to me that we would never get a reduction in the interest rate, but we did. Negotiation with the European authorities is a lengthy process that goes inch by inch. We are moving it forward inch by inch. My present objective is to seek a reduction in the overall burden of the debt on the...

General Government Debt (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: GDP data for the first half of 2011 confirm that recovery is under way. Growth is being driven by the traded sector, with exports of goods and services increasing by more than 6% on an annual basis in the first quarter and, despite weaker levels of activity in our main trading partners, by close to 5% in the second quarter. These strong levels of export growth partly reflect the very...

General Government Debt (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy is correct to point to the volatility of the situation in Europe, a situation that has been volatile for some time now. This obviously has an adverse effect on economic growth, real and forecasted. It is hoped that as things proceed there will be a settlement. The Deputy is correct that the situation remains volatile, which is disappointing from Ireland's perspective given we...

General Government Debt (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: It plans to enter the markets earlier than that but with a view to testing the market rather than being fully funded. The Deputy will note that the secondary market is volatile and responds with reasonably large movements to small levels of purchasing or selling. It is difficult to know what will be the appropriate bond price for Ireland until such time as the market has been tested.

General Government Debt (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: I have not sought any commitment from the ECB about the secondary market. Because we are not in the primary market at this stage it would be premature to have any such discussions. The NTMA is of the same view it has held for the past number of months that it will be possible to get back into the market around the date I indicated and it has not changed its position in this regard.

Economic and Monetary Union (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: The scenario to which the Deputy refers is a purely hypothetical one and I will not add to speculation in that regard. Indeed, I note that over the weekend there was clarification from Germany and France that they are not proposing any break-up of the euro area but rather are talking about making the euro area work better. However, it is abundantly clear that we are at an important juncture....

Economic and Monetary Union (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy referred to the German finance Minister. I would refer him to a very long interview that minister did with Le Monde, published on Sunday, in which he gave an absolute commitment to the future of the eurozone. He stated his ambition was for the euro to grow to be the most significant reserve currency in the world, that he was confident of its future and that we needed greater...

Economic and Monetary Union (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: I am glad to see the Deputy pledging support for the euro after his party campaigned against it in the Maastricht and Lisbon treaty referendums-----

Economic and Monetary Union (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: -----and in every other treaty that advanced the European cause. I am very pleased by that.

Economic and Monetary Union (15 Nov 2011)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy quoted the German finance Minister as evidence but that utterance could apply to anybody in government, any time, anywhere. It would be a very bad government that did not plan for the future. That is all the Minister said. We take the same position.