Results 7,041-7,060 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Order of Business (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: The trick is to have one's mouth closed and one's ears open.

Order of Business (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: When the Deputy is around it is a case of "Nessun Dorma".

House Repossessions. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: I thank Deputy Flanagan for raising this issue, because there is no Member of the House who does not understand the importance that Irish people place on home ownership. However, I must take the Deputy up on his last point. It is important to emphasise that the current code of practice will not, as the Deputy appears to believe - although I am sure his belief is sincere - be ending this month.

House Repossessions. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: Well, it is not ending this month, which was the premise on which the Deputy tabled this matter.

House Repossessions. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: The code of conduct on mortgage arrears, which was published by the Financial Regulator last February, applies to all regulated lenders on a statutory basis and replaces the earlier voluntary code operated by mainstream lenders. The code applies only to mortgage lending to consumers in respect of their principal private residences in Ireland. The main features of the code are early...

House Repossessions. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: -----with figures from the UK Council of Mortgage lenders indicates that UK repossession rates per 100,000 mortgages are 30 times those in Ireland. Media reports of repossession cases taken through the courts show that most involve sub-prime lenders, as mentioned by the Deputy, which made mortgages available to borrowers who would not have been customers of the mainstream lenders, often...

House Repossessions. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: All estimates of the extent of negative equity appear to be based on general economic assumptions, but it is difficult to assess realistic price levels when property market activity remains low. Being in negative equity does not change one's mortgage payments, and the Financial Regulator has estimated that only a small proportion of borrowers with the covered institutions who are in negative...

House Repossessions. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: -----and nothing I have said should be taken as undermining the compassion we all feel for those who find themselves in this situation.

Residential Institutions. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: At the outset, I apologise that the Minister is not present. I agree with the Deputy that this is one of the most bleak periods and episodes in what, it must be said, was a bleak period in Irish life. Second, on reading the materials for the response to the Deputy, I note the bulk of them come from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. I make this point in advance as a caveat...

Residential Institutions. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: I certainly will put in a word for the Deputy and I acknowledge her point.

Foreign Conflicts. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue because the plight of the Palestinian people has a particular resonance with the Irish people. I do not know why that is but I suspect it has something to do with our history. I am glad the Deputy recognised the Government has been unequivocal in its condemnation of what has happened there. In December 2009, the UK Department for Environment, Food...

Departmental Bodies. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: I have a lengthy reply from the Department of Education and Science but I will draw the Minister's attention to the concerns expressed by Deputy Quinn. I am taking the Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, who apologises for his inability to be here. As Deputy Quinn is well aware, the Government has been considering the role of the NUI in the context both of the...

Departmental Bodies. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: The legislation amalgamating the qualifications and quality assurance bodies will include provision for the amalgamated agency to establish a code of practice and quality mark for the provision of educational services to international students. Education and training providers will be able to apply for the quality mark based on their compliance with the code of practice, which will cover...

Departmental Bodies. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: Maybe so. The Minister is confident these initiatives will further strengthen Ireland's reputation for educational excellence and help to ensure that we can take fullest advantage of the growing market in international education. Work will now begin on determining, in consultation with the NUI and the constituent universities, the most appropriate arrangements for distributing NUI functions....

Departmental Bodies. (21 Jan 2010)

Dick Roche: We provide world-class education and whatever institution looks after the quality mark and the marketing we should get on with it because phenomenal opportunities exist for Ireland.

Finance Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Feb 2010)

Dick Roche: Finance Bills, by definition, are dusty pieces of legislation. This is no different and there are dusty areas in it. However, it is a Finance Bill which touches on some very important measures, some of which are very subtle but which will have a major impact. It is important for a Finance Bill, particularly in the current climate, to strike the right balance. Therefore, it needs to be...

Finance Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Feb 2010)

Dick Roche: There are particular measures in this Bill to deal with innovation, research and development, which will be very important. I will touch on some of those measures shortly. The Finance Bill must continue the task of stabilising Ireland's public finances and do so in a way that is equitable. The Bill before us ticks all the right boxes in terms of all of these issues. Of course, as with any...

Finance Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Feb 2010)

Dick Roche: Whatever we call it, it is a good idea and it has had a general welcome and general appreciation. I have been defending Deputy Bruton on local radio.

Finance Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Feb 2010)

Dick Roche: Yes. Notwithstanding the occasional run-ins we have in this House, I still recognise a good idea when I see it. This is a very good idea, which I welcome in general. Of course, one could argue that the last thing we need is another savings scheme because savings are at an extraordinarily high level and we need to encourage people to spend, although perhaps not as profligately as they did in...

Public Service Remuneration: Motion (Resumed) (10 Feb 2010)

Dick Roche: It is difficult to follow the last two speakers without covering the same ground. However, this is a mischievous motion. The Deputies opposite, and in particular the main signer of this motion, knows more than most precisely the precarious and difficult financial situation of the country. I claim it is a base motion as well because at its heart is an attempt to play on discontent within...