Results 4,621-4,640 of 6,295 for speaker:Michael D'Arcy

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Insurance Industry (30 Nov 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I am told that the next round of payments, up to 65%, will be in February. I will check if there is a legislative gap and if that is the case, I will come back to the Deputy on that. If it is a legislative issue, it will probably be difficult enough to resolve because as the Deputy knows, the insurance Bill is awaiting pre-legislative scrutiny. If it is not a legislative gap but something...

Other Questions: Motor Insurance Regulation (30 Nov 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 14 together. The cost of insurance working group's report on the costs of motor insurance was published in January 2017. It makes 32 recommendations, with 71 associated actions to be carried out within agreed timeframes which are set out in the action plan. The most recent meeting of the working group took place on 25 October and the group has met...

Other Questions: Motor Insurance Regulation (30 Nov 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Of all the insurance issues I have taken up since I was appointed Minister of State, this involves the most effective group of people I know. The group is cross-sectoral and comprises officials from the Departments of Justice and Equality; Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Finance, as well as the Central Bank. Everyone is working to try to implement the recommendations made in the report as...

Other Questions: Motor Insurance Regulation (30 Nov 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I will touch on the issue of fraud as quickly as I can. Fraud has a major impact on the cost of insurance. There are two types. The one which receives more coverage is where somebody sets up an accident. Another type which occurs much more frequently than the first involves over-exaggerated claims. There is a perception that it is not quite fraud because the Irish mindset is that if...

Other Questions: Motor Insurance Regulation (30 Nov 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Was that the cost of the motor insurance premium?

Other Questions: Motor Insurance Regulation (30 Nov 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I thought I had heard of everything, but this is the first time I have heard of that happening. I will ask the officials whether they have been made aware of it. One criticism I have of the insurance sector concerns the arbitrary nature of the figures quoted to customers. On multiple occasions an arbitrary figure seems to have been plucked out of the sky. One man told me that his...

Other Questions: Motor Insurance Regulation (30 Nov 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: No cases have been brought to my attention relating to taxi drivers whose insurance has increased by such an amount that they have gone out of business. If the Deputy is aware of individual cases, I ask that he tell me and I will take up the matter. If someone has not had an accident, or there is no obvious reason that his or her premium should increase, I ask that the Deputy make me aware...

Other Questions: Motor Insurance Regulation (30 Nov 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: -----is that it is in the interests of the insured young drivers.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: It has been a while since I was in these seats.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I will make a number of comments before I make my speech. People might be interested to know why the Department of Finance is responsible. In 1933, the Department of Finance paid an awful lot of money to purchase the copyright. It cost £1,000, which is equivalent to millions of euro today. At the time, an acre of land traded for about £3 so the price paid was similar to the...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: That is good. That is just a few bits and pieces. The Department of Finance is very proud of its long association with the national anthem, having acted as its unofficial custodian since it purchased the copyright of the music and the English lyrics of "The Soldier's Song" on behalf of the State in 1933. As a modest expression of our pride, Peadar Kearney was one of the figures we chose to...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Our view at this time is that the best approach is via guidelines rather than legislation.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: The Senator should know by now that the Department of Finance is always right.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: It would be helpful to me if the committee made a recommendation on having an ISL version of the national anthem. It would not meet any resistance from me. To be honest, the issue of copyright is off the agenda. We cannot tiptoe around it.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I am not trying to influence the committee, but I think we should start with guidelines. It is only in the past few years that people have started to respect the national flag. During the years in council elections, for example, we have seen the national flag being thrown around the place or draped around people. That has come to an end. The Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, should be...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: It is nearly sorted out.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I will try to answer the questions as best I can. I think only a small number of countries have their national anthems enshrined in law. Of those I am aware of, I think India, Pakistan and Russia have done so.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Status, Treatment and Use of the National Anthem (5 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Canada is a fourth. It is probably best to try guidelines to start. That is just an opinion; it is up to the committee to go in whatever direction it chooses. Do we really want to start prosecuting people who use the flag in appropriate ways for commercial purposes? The number of occasions concerned is small. Another matter I want the committee to consider shows the maturity of a nation....

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I have had this conversation with the Senator on multiple occasions. I disagree with her view. People have heard me say many times, both here and in the other House, that the major adjustment in Irish society is the income tax take. According to the figures up to the end of November 2017, the income tax take is €18.3 billion to date. That is with a month to go until the end of the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: The Senator disagrees with that.