Results 7,481-7,500 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The previous Government made legal commitments which we cannot resile from. It would not be in the interests of the country to do so because resiling from those arrangements would put us in a default position. Default is not part of our policy and in the absence of a default we are negotiating a better position for Ireland. The Deputy mentioned the German authority. It is quite clear...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: That is not true. On a number of occasions the Deputy has stated his position on these matters. We both agree that the original deal was a bad one. The Government is trying to unwind it by negotiation. As Deputy Dooley pointed out, there are two parts to the negotiations and we are proceeding with them. We are making some progress and we shall see where it works out. It is also true...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: There is general agreement that the light touch supervision that prevailed in Ireland and elsewhere before the banking crisis was one of its causes. Everywhere, including Europe, has moved away from light touch regulation. From a policy point of view - driven by the AAA countries in Europe - anything like a common banking system could be put in place. In other words, before other people...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: There are a range of forecasts about growth in Ireland produced by different agencies and authorities at different times. We released growth figures in April and they are operable at present. The next set of growth figures will be released by us in the next couple of weeks. A large of amount of very strong data are coming through for this quarter, especially for the services sector. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: First, how are the banks funded? They take in deposits, and the deposit flow into the banks has increased. If one looks at the project as a repair of the banking system, the fact they are getting an increased flow of deposits is a good indicator that people with savings believe the banks are being repaired. They are now at the stage where I think interest rates on deposits will probably...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: What was envisaged on 29 June was that the ESM would be empowered to recapitalise banks directly and that it would commence with the recapitalisation of banks in Spain. The precedent would be applicable to Ireland. That was the thinking. If that model was followed through, the ESM would take a bank share. It would buy the entire shareholding in the case of AIB or take a share in Bank of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: I will bear Deputy Spring's comments in mind. There are two national interests, which are not always in line. One is the individual difficulties of mortgage holders and other creditors of banks. It is in their interest to have low interest rates. On the other hand, as we are effectively the sole owner of AIB, the other national interest, which is the taxpayers' interest, is to ensure the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Arthur Spring is developing the point I am making. On the ESM, the statement of 29 June envisaged that when banking supervision was put in place, something along the lines suggested by Deputy Spring will happen. The Irish banks are fully recapitalised under stress conditions. Within the current property values, the banks are adequately capitalised. When Basel III regulations on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: We do not run the banks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Chairman and his committee invited me to discuss an ECOFIN meeting on Tuesday. I have given the committee preliminary documentation on the agenda. It is unreasonable to ask me to be held accountable for everything across my departmental brief when I have been invited to discuss the ECOFIN agenda. It is not that I am reluctant to do so but I am hesitant in case I give inaccurate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: A number of new conditions are being attached to the budgetary process for ECOFIN countries and for the euro group. The documents in response to the committee's request include the two-pack, which is being negotiated at a trilogue with the European Parliament, the Presidency and the Commission. The documents provided refer to the governance part of the two-pack and some regulations on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Our policy position on the financial transactions tax has developed over a period of time. As the Deputy will be aware, the ESRI and the Central Bank developed a paper on the financial transactions tax at my request when it became clear that certain European countries were going to push the matter fairly hard. I wanted the advice I was getting within the Department of Finance to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The idea of a financial transactions tax has been part of political debate for quite some time. The first time I heard it debated in the Houses of the Oireachtas was on the back of the Tobin report, which was very fashionable 12 or 15 years ago.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Yes. The proposal at the time involved the imposition of a financial transactions tax at a very small level to fund overseas development aid, in effect. The plan was that it would lead to a big international budget for this purpose. Sweden was the only country to put in place a financial transactions tax along the lines suggested. It was a disaster from Sweden's point of view because it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Humphreys mentioned Sweden and cast doubt on the professionalism of the research that was done by the ESRI and the Central Bank. I think I am entitled to reply with reference to Sweden.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: I know. It is a fact that when Sweden introduced a financial transactions tax, it wrecked that country's financial services industry. The Swedish authorities say that quite openly at meetings. They are very antagonistic to financial transactions taxes as a result of what happened previously. I know the situation has moved on. I set out the Irish policy position on a financial...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: I cannot speak for the Taoiseach. The Deputy should table a question to the Taoiseach asking him to release the documents.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Clearing House Group is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach. It is under the authority of the Taoiseach.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy is trying to trap me. If he wants to know whether the Taoiseach will release the documents, he should table a question to the Taoiseach.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: There is no indication that the financial transactions tax will be used as "an insurance fund for banks".