Results 6,741-6,760 of 7,777 for speaker:Joe Costello

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Was it the intention that the Comptroller and Auditor General would bring that to our attention in a report at some stage?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: It was not going to see the light of day with this committee.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: I am not clear how that would work out but very substantial issues have come into the public domain. If there is a mechanism for us to bring this to the attention of the committee and to bring in the HSE, I think we should pursue that.

An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: An Dara Céim - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Second Stage (10 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle as ucht an seans chun labhairt ar an mBille tábhachtach seo inniu. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. This is a ground-breaking, long-overdue Bill. If the referendum is passed, it will mean that we will treat all our citizens, irrespective of their sexual orientation, equally. The amendment to the...

Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (10 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015, acknowledging the decision of the Court of Appeal this morning. It is timely for the Minister for Health to have the Bill ready and before us so quickly to deal with the lacuna created. The decision that certain classes of drugs are legal, which leaves open this loophole which must be closed urgently, is a...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: I have a question on correspondence.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: On correspondence received.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Yes, the item that was circulated the last time. The representative of HSBC in London is not available. The correspondence from HSBC includes the statement that the representative of HSBC London is not available.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: I have a question on the text of the correspondence as I am not sure what it means. Does it mean that the bank cannot make representatives available? Does it mean that they are not available at this moment? Will they be available at a later time? Would it be more appropriate for somebody from Geneva to attend? I know that London is the location of its headquarters, but the events took...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: As it states they have no information, there is not much sense in writing about the specific issues involved if they are not able to answer questions. Is it a matter of the representative from London not being available at this time, or is it that they do not intend to make a representative from London available under any circumstances?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: To come back to the letter, it makes it clear that nobody in Ireland is able to provide any useful information. It also makes it clear that HSBC is prepared to answer specific questions. It then makes a rather ambiguous statement that a representative from London is not available. Whether such a representative is not available at this time or whether it is not prepared to make a person...

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Mr. Gallagher is very welcome. I welcome Mr. Cody in particular and congratulate him on his appointment. I will continue on with the corporate sector for a moment. Much of that sector has been ruled out for one reason or another and it is an enormous amount of money at €6.3 billion. I refer to global financial services companies and a number of corporate records which show that...

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Why would such a large number of them have been dissolved in a particular period of time? The years were 1993 and 2000 but there is no evidence of other companies being dissolved later. Why was it the case here?

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: That is approximately 50% of all cases.

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: What happened to those cases then? After they were dissolved, where did they go?

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Does Mr. Cody have any idea in those tens of thousands of cases whether they slipped off to another jurisdiction?

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Was it just Kazakhstan or did Mr. Cody mention that country in passing?

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Can Mr. Cody give the committee an idea of what jurisdictions were involved?

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Was there a suspicion at the time that quite a number of them were dodgy operations?

Public Accounts Committee: Revenue Commissioners Investigation of HSBC Offshore Accounts (12 Mar 2015)

Joe Costello: Were any of those accounts routed through the Irish financial services area?