Results 4,541-4,560 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: Goldman Sachs was engaged by the NTMA on 15 April 2011 as external advisor for the liability management exercises and capital raising transactions to be undertaken in respect of BOI, AIB, ILP, EBS, INBS and Anglo Irish Bank and for advice on the sale of Irish Life. The total cost of the engagement was €7.8 million. Work is ongoing with regard to the sale of Irish Life.

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: Discussions are on-going in relation to the restructuring of Permanent TSB and it would not be appropriate at this time to speculate as to what impact this may have on staff in the institution. However, as I have stated previously, the Deputy will appreciate that it is an inevitable, but unfortunate, consequence of the necessary restructuring of the banking system that job losses will arise.

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: I have no plans to introduce consumer legislation into the area of mortgage rate reductions. In late 2011 the Taoiseach asked for the Central Bank's opinion on recent developments in mortgage interest rates and on possible action by the Central Bank in that regard. In response to the Taoiseach's request, the Deputy Governor wrote to him on 11 November 2011. In his letter the Deputy Governor...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: The new Treaty requires us to correct our debt to GDP ratio at a sufficient pace when it is above the 60 per cent threshold. I would point out that the pace of the required correction under the new Treaty is the same as is already required under the reforms of the Stability and Growth Pact as part of the so-called 'six pack' of legislative reforms. Specifically, we will be required to...

Written Answers — EU-IMF Agreement: EU-IMF Agreement (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: To date, Ireland's nominal borrowings from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism and the European Financial Stability Facility under the EU/IMF Programme amount to €38.2 billion. The table below, provided by the NTMA, sets out the loans drawn down to date from each source under the EU-IMF programme of financial support for Ireland along with the interest rate for these loans. The...

Written Answers — Economic Growth: Economic Growth (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: There is a huge amount of uncertainty at the moment, as evidenced by the wide range of GDP projections for this year, not just for Ireland, but also for the euro area. Indeed, the recent downgrading of forecasts by the IMF – including those for Ireland - reflects heightened concern about the euro area and the wider global outlook. Obviously as a small open economy whose recovery is being...

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: As indicated I am committed to reviewing the approach to the Promissory notes with a view to reducing the overall cost to the State. The Troika have agreed to engage in a process with Irish Officials to produce a common paper which will consider all options for restructuring the notes in terms of the source of funding, the duration of the notes, the interest rate etc. This review is at a...

Written Answers — Financial Sector Regulation: Financial Sector Regulation (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: The imposition of lending restrictions is the responsibility of the Registrar of Credit Unions, who is the independent regulator for credit unions. Within his independent regulatory discretion, the Registrar acts to support the prudential soundness of individual credit unions, to maintain sector stability and to protect the savings of credit union members. As Minister for Finance, my role...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: The law firms Arthur Cox and Matheson Ormsby Prentice (MOP) were engaged to provide legal advice in relation to various aspects of the proposed sale of Irish Life pursuant to the terms of a framework agreement put in place following a competitive tender in March 2011, for the NTMA Banking Unit. These engagements were awarded by the NTMA in accordance with the delegation of certain banking...

Written Answers — Job Security: Job Security (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy should note that the termination of the AIB/Aviva distribution agreement was a commercial decision made by the Board of AIB following careful consideration of all options available to them. I therefore had no role to play in this decision. AIB and Aviva are currently working closely to agree the separation process and following that, employees currently supporting the Ark Life...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: First and foremost, I want to point out that the Government's priority for the public finances continues to be to meet the terms of the joint EU / IMF programme of financial assistance, which are designed to maintain the long-term sustainability of our budgetary position. Nevertheless, over the longer term, the intergovernmental Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the...

Written Answers — Banks Recapitalisation: Banks Recapitalisation (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Government is committed to delivering a return to a successful vibrant economy. In this context I have indicated that there is no private sector involvement for senior bank paper or Irish Sovereign debt without the agreement of our external partners. This commitment has been agreed with out external partners and is now the basis on which Ireland's future financing strategy is built....

Written Answers — Illicit Trade in Tobacco: Illicit Trade in Tobacco (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners, who are responsible for the collection of tobacco products tax, and for tackling the illicit trade in cigarettes and tobacco products, that the strategy employed by Revenue to tackle this illicit trade is multi-faceted. It includes ongoing analysis of the nature and extent of the problem, developing and sharing intelligence on a national, EU and...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: Although no formal proposals have yet been presented to the European Council, I understand mainly from media coverage that France and Germany are preparing a submission which recommends an acceleration of the negotiation process with regard to the European Commission's proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporation Tax Base (CCCTB). The call for acceleration may reflect their concerns at the...

Written Answers — Banking Sector Regulation: Banking Sector Regulation (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: I have been informed by the Central Bank that once a licence is issued by the Central Bank of Ireland it becomes the property of the relevant credit institution and thus the Central Bank retains no right to publish copies. However, pursuant to Section 12(1) of the Central Bank Act 1971, the Central Bank publishes a register of licensed institutions on their website. Issues regarding...

Written Answers — Banking Sector Regulation: Banking Sector Regulation (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: I have been informed that this information will require more time than has been provided in order to produce a comprehensive response. In the interim I can inform the Deputy that the respective banks have been approached regarding this query, and that at least one major Irish bank has confirmed that they maintain an audit trail of mortgages that have been securitised in the form of a flag in...

Written Answers — Price Inflation: Price Inflation (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Central Statistics Office recently published the annual inflation figures for 2011. On a HICP basis, inflation averaged 1.1 per cent while CPI inflation averaged 2.6 per cent. This follows on from two years of negative inflation according to both measures. It should be noted that the Irish rate of HICP inflation (which is used for comparison purposes) was the lowest in the euro area...

Written Answers — Betting Legislation: Betting Legislation (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: The proposed Betting (Amendment) Bill, which is being drafted at present, will amend the 1931 Betting Act to inter alia establish the regulatory framework for the licensing of remote bookmakers and betting exchanges, including measures to enforce the regulatory framework. The drafting of the Bill, which is fairly complex, is well advanced. The Finance Act 2011 contained measures to allow for...

Written Answers — Financial Services Regulation: Financial Services Regulation (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: Neither I, nor officials from the Department of Finance have had contact with KBC Bank since 14 December 2011 on the subject of passing on ECB interest rate reductions to mortgage customers. I do not intend to make contact with the Bank on the matter nor will I request my officials to do so. As I stated in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 159 on 24 January 2012, the lending...

Written Answers — National Debt: National Debt (1 Feb 2012)

Michael Noonan: The most significant saving that we have achieved on our debt dynamics results from the interest rate reduction on EU/IMF Programme funding announced following last July's Heads of State/Government meeting and the lengthening of maturities on Programme loans from an average duration of 71⁄2 years to 121⁄2 years in the case of EFSM and a minimum of 15 years in the case of EFSF. This...