Results 7,781-7,800 of 16,492 for speaker:Ciarán Lynch

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Thank you. In your opening statement, Mr. Wright, you say that in the 1990s, the economy would appear to have been structured in a way from a fiscal base to be more sound than what it was when it progressed into the 2000s. Also, in your opening statement, you said that because of Ireland being part of the eurozone, we did not have control over our interest rates. Can you explain the...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: That brings me on to my final question, and regardless of whether the banking crisis ever happened. When the Irish economy came to that sudden stop, there was a deficit of about €30 billion in tax revenue coming in to meet the daily outgoings of running the country on a day-to-day basis which meant the Irish nation was short €30 billion to manage its house, and that was because...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Thank you very much, Mr. Wright. I just noted in our opening statement that you made a suggestion that you might be able to provide this committee with some questions that we might raise with the Department of Finance. You might give us an indication as to some areas with which we might deal with it. I will return to that at the end of today's session, when we have completed proceedings,...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: That would be his job and he will come before the inquiry as well.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Those were the guidelines when Mr. Wright was invited to do his report and not before the committee. It is a section of the Act.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: I ask Mr. Wright to clarify. He was a public servant and not a politician in the administration.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Before calling Deputy John Paul Phelan, I have a question. Mr. Wright mentioned the construction of the Department of Finance. Did Mr. Wright confirm in his report that more people worked in the press office than there were senior economists in the Department of Finance at the time? Were there more spin doctors than economists in the Department?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Mr. Wright wrote the reports.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: To summarise Mr. Wright's response, the graph in page 22, which the public might not be looking at, shows a clear distinction between the position advocated in June by Department of Finance officials and the decision taken later in the year by Government in terms of implementing the budget. There is a consistent situation whereby the advice and what happens are quite different.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Senator O’Keeffe should ask her final question.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Thank you Mr. Wright. I now propose that we suspend for 15 minutes and resume at 11.15 a.m.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: What does the Senator mean by "pushing the red button"? What does that mean?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: I thank Senator D'Arcy. Following on from Senator D'Arcy's question and referencing it to what Deputy John Paul Phelan stated earlier, in the graph, on page 22 of Mr. Wright's report, which shows the differences between the positions advocated in June and the outcomes in December, and Mr. Wright's graphs run between 1999 and 2008, at which period during that time should the red button have...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: In what way would they have dealt with it?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: I seek clarification on something Mr. Wright stated before the committee suspended. He referred to good staff in the Department of Finance and from the Bank of Ireland. In that context, I assume, when Mr. Wright is talking about the Bank of Ireland, he is talking about the Central Bank.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: It is the Central Bank Mr. Wright is talking about. I thank Mr. Wright. That said, I call Deputy Higgins who has ten minutes.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Will the Deputy ask a question, as he is now over his time. I ask him to remove any prejudgement when framing the question.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Deputy, put your question. You have asked two or three questions. I need to afford Mr. Wright time to respond, in fairness.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Before you respond, I ask that Deputies confine their questions to one or two conjoined at a time. Mr. Wright is answering six or seven questions and does not have sufficient time within the member's slot to answer. I ask members to be disciplined in their questions.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (18 Dec 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: The clock has stopped while I have been talking. Let me be clear-----