Results 7,701-7,720 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Regulation (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Further to Parliamentary Question No. 64 of 12 July 2012, the Central Bank has informed me that since that time it has not received a formal application, or formal plans, from Ulster Bank Ireland Limited to change its regulatory or legal status from that of a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: International Financial Services Industry (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Membership of the Clearing House Group is comprised of public and private sector representatives and reflects a wide range of experience and expertise so that its objectives of identifying opportunities to develop sustainable business and employment in the various sectors of the international financial services industry can be achieved. The primary focus of the group is to identify and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banks Recapitalisation (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: As this is a Eurosystem issue relating to the application of the collateral framework rules, it is not under the direction of the Minister. However, please see below the comments from President of the ECB, Mario Draghi, when asked about the matter at the ECB press conference following the Governing Council meeting on 8 November; “Let me first make a clarification, because there has...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Consultations (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Consultations are taken as a matter of course within the Department with industry groups, professional bodies, trade unions and social partners. I will set out the consultations that have taken place since the beginning of the current year. On foot of the Mazars report on SME lending demand, and in order to understand the situation on the ground and stimulate further ideas to get movement...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: European Banking Sector (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 93, 94 and 104 together. European Union Member States, in general, and euro area Member States, in particular, are obliged, under the treaties, to treat each others’ economic and financial affairs as matters of common interest. Further, Member States have committed themselves to undertake measures necessary to correct harmful imbalances. In a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: As detailed in the supplementary information published with the end-October Exchequer statement on 2 November, income tax, VAT, corporation tax, stamp duty and capital gains tax are all ahead of profile. Excise duty, capital acquisitions tax and customs duty are behind profile. The supplementary information contains a table which shows the exact performance of each tax head, both compared...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Job Initiatives (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: It is a long-standing practice of the Minister for Finance not to comment, in advance of the Budget, on any tax matters that might be the subject of Budget decisions. However, I draw the Deputy’s attention to the following existing incentives in the tax code to encourage individuals to invest in schemes which can lead to job creation: The Employment and Investment Incentive (EII) The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consumer Price Index (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The latest data show that consumer price inflation remains moderate, with prices in October 1.2 per cent higher than in the same month in 2011. As measured by the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) – the comparable measure of inflation across the EU – prices in Ireland rose at an annual rate of 2.1 per cent in October. While the pass-through of the increase in global...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Growth (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Ireland is continuing to record low, but positive growth. GDP expanded by ½ per cent in the first half of 2012 relative to the same period of last year. The shift in the composition of activity – away from domestic demand and into the exporting sectors – that has characterised developments in recent years is continuing. Support for overall activity is coming from the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Household Savings Rate (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The household savings rate has been in double digits over the past three years and remains so in the year to date, while household indebtedness in Q2 2012 fell to the lowest level since Q1 2007. This reflects both households' efforts to reduce their high indebtedness built up during the boom years as well as precautionary motives due to the challenging economic environment. In terms of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Growth (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Support for overall activity is coming from the exporting sectors, with services exports becoming an increasingly important engine of growth in recent quarters. This, in no small part, reflects the improvements in price and cost competitiveness that have been evident since the onset of the crisis. Such internal price adjustments are crucial for Ireland’s recovery, given that...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Protection Policies (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: My Department does not keep up to date information on the level of default by insurance companies with particular reference to mortgage or other debt protection. I have made enquiries with the Central Bank about this matter which I understand relates to cases such as where a couple has mortgage protection insurance policy and then fall on hard times and as a result can no longer afford to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Competitiveness (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: My Department monitors the performance of all sectors of the economy on a continuous basis both in terms of official statistics from the CSO and also in terms of high frequency survey based indicators such as purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) and consumer confidence. The Action Plan for Jobs 2012 sets out a whole-of-Government approach to the Government’s central policy of...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: I thank Senator Whelan for raising this issue. The outrage expressed by the Senator at excessive bank and pensions is shared by the Government. The allegation in the question is incorrect. Since the Government came to power, no breaches of the salary cap have been allowed by it, unlike the previous policy where exemptions were authorised and some of the Deputies who were part of that...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: Obviously the truth is beginning to hurt when I am being heckled by Senator Walsh.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The exclusion is for pension contributions. No individual at any of the covered institutions is allowed to receive more than the cap. This is being honoured as proven in the case of the new CEO appointments at AIB and Permanent Trustee Savings Bank, respectively, whose packages are contained within this policy. The Government has also been putting downward pressure on pay levels throughout...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: That is not to say, however, that we cannot deal with this matter. We are examining ways of doing so. To give Senators the exact advice, pensions are generally taken to be deferred income and any action to reduce a pension payment needs to be comprehensively founded lest it run the risk of being considered an unjust attack by the State on the property rights of individuals affected by the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: No. The facts are there, although I know the Senator does not like hearing them.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Senator is a very good Member of this House.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Banking Sector Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Michael Noonan: He will only damage his reputation, however, by trying to defend the indefensible. It is always a bad idea. You owed them nothing; that is another thing the Senator should remember. As regards Senator O'Donnell's remarks, I share her anger at what is happening. I think I have replied to the points she made in respect of banking and so on. There are also other institutions of which she has...