Results 5,681-5,700 of 6,295 for speaker:Michael D'Arcy

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: That is correct. We think that is appropriate. It will take us to 2023. We hope there will not be any of these exceptional circumstances and the €4 billion will be there in 2023, with the opportunity to grow it further. That is our hope and expectation.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: I will deal with what the Deputy said about one of the circumstances being recapitalisation of the banks. That is not what this pot of money is for. This was stated to the Deputy and his colleagues on Second Stage. It is clear they are not, however, accepting that. The Deputy said that, effectively, the only use for this pot of money is to recapitalise the banks.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: That is fine but that is not what it is for. I cannot state that any more frankly than that. We have done much in the past decade. As a nation, we have recapitalised the Irish banks. A core objective of the EU banking union is to separate the sovereign fund from the banks and prevent the use of State funds to bail out banks. The EU banking union provides for a single prudential...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: It is important, Deputy-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: Excuse me, but it is not.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: It is not a simple question. It is important that we move beyond the Deputy's narrative, which is to say that a pot of money is being made available to bail out banks.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: That "can be" used. I am not trying to misquote the Deputy. It is important that the rainy day fund be available for a severe economic negative shock. That is why we have it. This is in line with a number of other jurisdictions, albeit theirs are not designed in the exact same way as ours. I am not having a go at the Deputy,-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: -----but it does him a disservice to say that it can be used. It can be used for a number of things depending on what the Oireachtas decides at some point in the future. There is a pot of money that, by the end of 2023, should amount to €4 billion. It will then be a matter for the Oireachtas, if the Houses see fit, to add to that pot of money to a maximum of €8 billion. If...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: That is a matter for the Oireachtas to decide.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: That is a matter for the Oireachtas to decide in 2023-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: It can be used for a number of matters. That is for the Oireachtas to decide.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: The Deputy may be on this side of the House then. The choice is for the Oireachtas.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: No.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: No. The Deputy is misrepresenting the position. We are spending a large amount of money on capital projects and housing and hundreds of millions of euro are being made available for Brexit.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: This is State money that we want to have available in an exceptional circumstance. We had these moneys available through the National Pensions Reserve Fund, NPRF, and they were used in a certain manner. We want to ensure that they do not get used for bailing out others. There are other tools available. The note that the Deputy mentioned was made available before the Bill was drafted....

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: I will read the note again. We have decided what an exceptional circumstance is.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: No, we do not. We have legislation in the form of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012, under which an "exceptional circumstance" is defined as either a period of severe economic downturn or during which an unusual event outside the control of the State has a major impact on the financial "position of the general government". The moneys in the pot will then be transferred to the Exchequer and...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: I will deal that amendment when we come to it.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: I will deal with that issue in a moment.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (28 Mar 2019)

Michael D'Arcy: I do not agree with the Deputy. The domestic banking crisis that Deputy McGrath and I had the pleasure of sitting through cost everyone - the Irish Exchequer, the UK Exchequer and other governments with institutions based in Ireland that were regulated by other entities - €140 billion. It cost the Irish Exchequer in the territory of €33 billion or €34 billion. The...