Results 5,381-5,400 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: In terms of the opinions, sorry, and what exactly you accept, it said that it had repeatedly urged the Irish authorities to ensure economic stability by means of fiscal policy. It regretted that this advice was not reflected in the budget for 2001, despite developments in 2000 indicating an increasing extent of overheating. So what did you do about that?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: You say that you reined in public spending but if we look at ... and it's a graph from the Wright report, it's in the documentation - page 81 of Vol. 3. What we actually see in the years for 2000, 2001, 2002 is public expenditure increasing far beyond what was being recommended by the Department of Finance. So did you actually rein in public spending? Because what I see in this report is...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: I don't want to get into a long narrative on this, Mr. Ahern, I want to stick to the actual Council censure. But also, what was also said by the Wright report, and if I'm correct, he said that you were in broad agreement with the reports conclusions.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: So on page 48 of the Wright report it says that, when talking about the monetary union, the impacts on the Irish economy and what should have been done with fiscal policy, it says, "Ireland failed the test of prudent fiscal management." Do you accept that?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: That's not what I wanted you to do, Mr. Ahern, but does that mean that you didn't ... that you ignored the censure from the Council?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: If you accept what Mr. Wright says, that we failed the test of prudent fiscal management, and Mr. Cowen accepted that as well when he was before us, does that mean you ignored the European Council?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: Despite the censure from the Council and despite also-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: Yes. And the Central Bank in 1999 stated "low interest rates have simply added fuel to the Irish economy they have pushed up demand for credit and they have been a contributing factor to the excessive rises in house prices". Did you ignore that warning from the Central Bank?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: Sorry ... "low interest rates have simply added fuel to the Irish economy they have pushed up demand for credit and they have been a contributing factor to the excessive rises in house prices". Central Bank in 1999. Prior to the censure from the Council.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: I want to stick to looking at what was being warned ... the warnings from the Central Bank in relation to the budgetary policy of your Government. If we look at the Central Bank pre-budget letter ... towards the end of 2000, this is for the budget for 2001. It warned that despite the strong surplus position the case against an expansionary budget is convincing, as this would heighten the...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: Even though the next two budgets were expansionary budgets, going against the advice of the Central Bank.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: I'll just cut across, Mr. Ahern, sorry ... just ... because the figures shows that in 2002 spending was 22% up on the previous year for the first six months. Is that not expansionary?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: Is that not expansionary, Mr. Ahern?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: Fair enough. Well, let's talk about the Minister for Finance then because when he was before the committee, I asked him in what way the elections in 2002 impacted upon the budget decisions in 2002 and 2001. And his reply to me was: I'm sure that when an election is coming up, that you will be very, very conscious in the previous year to 18 months, as the same as this Government is very,...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: It is Mr. McCreevy. -----yes, of course, the upcoming election has always influenced measures which the Government do at election time. We are politicians, don't forget, and we actually like to be re-elected. Is that a true reflection of your Government?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: Okay, well, immediately after that election in 2002 Minister McCreevy sent a memo to every Government Department demanding cutbacks in spending. Why?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: In 2002?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: The dotcom bubble was in 2001.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: And the forecasts didn't predict this then for 2002, the economic forecasting?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (16 Jul 2015)

Eoghan Murphy: Okay. Moving forward then through to before 2007. In an interview with the Sunday Independentin November 2014, you said: ...competitiveness had certainly been lost for three or four years by 2007 ... Investment in residential property went to 13pc of our national output in 2006. That's about double what it should have been. The share of employment in construction was too high. But the...