Results 7,141-7,160 of 7,975 for speaker:Joe Higgins

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (25 Jun 2015)

Joe Higgins: Let me just ask you, many people would say and we related earlier, we had the ECB saying, "You stand behind your banks." What does that mean except that the people have foisted on them the gambling debts of their private financial institutions. So what is that except the bail out of the market by the people. And are they not the same markets, incidentally, that made a bonanza in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (30 Jun 2015)

Joe Higgins: 9. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with Atheist Ireland. [12748/15]

Order of Business (30 Jun 2015)

Joe Higgins: What the Taoiseach and the Government are proposing here is a gross abuse of parliamentary procedure. They are attempting to introduce substantial measures, for example, on motor taxation, on waste management and on water charges and related issues but instead of having separate Bills for each issue, with a proper Second Stage for each, they are attempting to roll the whole lot together in...

Order of Business (30 Jun 2015)

Joe Higgins: I will not have that debate, but it is true that the Government did not have the neck to give landlords the power to take the water charges from people's deposits because it was afraid to do so. It did not have the neck to give the power to employers or Revenue to take them from people's wages or social welfare and Revenue is not involved. However, it is still trying to produce some...

Order of Business (30 Jun 2015)

Joe Higgins: It is not permissible that the Government can ram through the Second Stage of three major procedures in one hour tomorrow morning. Therefore, anybody who has any respect for parliamentary democracy and for an airing of these issues, which would educate Government Members and backbenchers, in particular, on the serious issues involved, should vote against the Government on this issue.

Order of Business (30 Jun 2015)

Joe Higgins: The Standing Order provides for no less than 60 minutes.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Morning, Ms Nolan. Ms Nolan, the banking and financial services division at the Department of Finance have, as a principal directive, it's on your website, and I'll just quote: "On the one hand, to contribute to the maintenance of financial and economic stability and identify and manage potential risks to that stability...". And then, on the other hand, a little bit later, "...to continue...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Yes. With respect, Ms Nolan, the paper, Regulating Better, from the Department of the Taoiseach in January 2004 made exactly those points, that regulation was to develop in a responsible way the sector. But we know what happened in the meantime with the bubble and the disastrous crash. Now, several witnesses in front of this inquiry have suggested that giving the Central Bank and the...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Yes. I'm just trying to explore whether this is a conflict that still can have detrimental effects because it was suggested by witnesses that one reason for so-called light-touch regulation was that there was a reluctance to be tough on Irish banks, for example, in relation to the extent of property lending, over-lending, etc., because that would make then the Irish Financial Services Centre...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: I want to quote from you ... for you, something from the Irish funds industry marketing brochure from March 2015-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: No, but it's quite simple to-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: So the Irish funds industry organisation says: "We represent the fund promoters/managers, administrators, custodians, transfer agents and professional advisory firms involved in the international funds industry in Ireland, with more than 13,000 funds and net assets of more that €3.8 trillion." Then it goes on to say, "Through its work with governmental and industry committees and...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Okay, can I just move on then Ms Nolan, thank you ... and if you could comment please on the decision to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank. Why that was not taken the night of the guarantee rather than a few months later and what advice the Government received at the time in this regard? And if you could comment if, in your opinion, nationalising Anglo earlier would have sped up a resolution of...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: I appreciate you weren't there on the night, Ms Nolan, but you are a very senior official in finance-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Okay, just to ask you if you might think it's curious that ... I refer to core documents Department of Finance Vol. 2, pages 116 and 119, but I'll quote, it's not necessary to follow it. This is the advice from Merrill Lynch to the National Treasury Management Agency and the Department on 28 September, which is one day before the guarantee. And it is obviously in favour of...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Okay. Just to move on to a different but related area, then, Ms. Nolan, on page 5 of your statement, yes, you said, "There was a great reluctance at European level...". We have moved forward to the October-November period of 2010, and approaching the crunch period and the so-called bailout, and you said, "There was a great reluctance at European level to allow the burning of senior...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Ms Nolan, I'd be curious to see how ... how the information ... how it went back and forth between you yourselves and the European Commission and the ECB or whichever of your organisations. So this would be going on at the same time as Mr. Trichet was writing to the Minister for Finance and, you know, demanding certain courses of action. Would that then have been replicated in frequent...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Yes.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Which of the European institutions was constantly in the ear of your colleagues or, indeed, maybe yourself, in relation to this?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (1 Jul 2015)

Joe Higgins: Thank you and then on page 4 ... page 5 in your opening statement again, I'll just quote very briefly. It says:Firstly in October and November 2010 when the guarantee had lapsed and the programme of assistance was being put in place. A number of [the] IMF officials were strongly in favour of burning any unguaranteed and unsecured bonds in Anglo. What do you know about this? What level at...