Results 39,621-39,640 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: 97. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to ensure the compliance of public bodies with obligations under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities 2015 to 2024; the sanctions available to address non-compliant and non-reporting bodies; the number of complaints made in relation to failure to comply with the strategy; and if he will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Small and Medium Businesses: Discussion (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: Listening to the disaster that has fallen on the witnesses' business, essentially they are saying that insurance is strangling SMEs because it is unpredictable, expensive and who knows what will happen tomorrow in terms of whether it will be available. First, have they compared the North and the Republic in this regard? Are there processes in the North that we might examine in the sense of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: The witnesses are very welcome to the committee. On the desirability of people in Ireland being able to buy homes, in particular younger people on moderate wages, the witnesses are probably aware that the Government has a scheme to give couples with an income of €75,000 or single people with incomes of €50,000 access to State-sponsored funds. One of the conditions of that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: Is that people who have entered fully into the application process, filled in the bank's forms and been accepted as applicants?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: So, it is nine out of ten.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: I ask about a couple of urban myths about the scheme. A lot of people ask me about the scheme and I try to give them some advice. One of the urban myths is that if one takes out a PCP, one can forget about being treated favourably, perhaps by Bank of Ireland but pretty much by any other bank. Someone in their late 20s or their 30s might have a very large car loan or a more modest credit...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: Mr. O'Beirne is saying that if someone is preparing a mortgage application, it does not matter what other debts are outstanding. There is a great deal of advertising and competition in the lending market right now. One of the areas of intense competition is in car finance where there may be very attractive options available. However, it would be difficult for a couple on a relatively...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: This is important in the context of the comments that were made earlier about financial education and levels of public financial knowledge. This is an issue that the banks could address collectively. People in their late 20s who cannot currently afford a mortgage may think that it is okay to take out a car loan but in fact the consequences of that may be that their debt level relative to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: In terms of future trends in the market in Ireland, particularly in the context of Brexit, it is obvious that lots of equity funds have already arrived here or are planning to come. Rents are extremely high and these funds are pitching heavily into the buy-to-rent market. Does the bank have any concerns that the entry of these funds into the buy-to-rent market will significantly reduce the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: Does the bank have a sense of what percentage of household income should go towards a mortgage? Say someone was paying 35% of their income on a purchase-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: In some cases, of course, rents account for more than 35% of income.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: It is higher than that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: The last time the bank was here we had a conversation about staff and remuneration. Several staff in Bank of Ireland, in my own area and nationally, have approached me over an outstanding difficulty they have with the bank on the settlement of mortgage issues and mortgage price issues. These are people who took out two-year fixed-rate products in 2005, 2006 and 2007, just before the crash....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Matters Relating to the Banking Sector: Bank of Ireland (4 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: Will the bank revert to us, as it is a significant issue for the people affected? In our earlier discussion on culture, the word "bonus" was not mentioned, but we are aware that a great deal of pressure has been put on the Government to jettison the caps on payments to senior executives. We understand the arguments that our guests have made about the difficulty in recruiting staff. In...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (9 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: 24. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his most recent visit to Northern Ireland; and the meetings he had with political party leaders. [15146/19]

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (9 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: No.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (9 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: There is a widespread fear among businesses in the North due to the possible changes which might come post Brexit and the consequences of those changes. Has the Taoiseach made arrangements for training for those responsible for customs and excise in the North, presumably in locations distant from the Border, with their counterparts in the Republic? Has the Government made progress on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (9 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: 67. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the implications of rent, house prices and mortgage costs for public sector workers; his views on the lack of affordable housing for low-paid public sector workers, in particular members of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10637/19]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (9 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: This question is about the plight of low-paid civil and public servants. How are they supposed to afford to buy a house? How are they supposed to afford to rent a house with the kind of prices over which the Minister is now presiding? For example, soldiers who serve this country with great distinction and bravery are walking out of our Defence Forces every day because they simply cannot...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (9 Apr 2019)

Joan Burton: My question was very specifically about members of our Defence Forces, particularly privates, corporals and perhaps, given how prices are escalating, sergeants. I do not know whether the Minister is familiar with what people in the Defence Forces earn, but it is not a huge amount. The Minister did not once mention ordinary soldiers and how they are supposed to afford current market rents or...