Results 8,721-8,740 of 8,768 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Central Bank decided that it did not have the basis to refuse. Can I just confirm? I want to get the facts clear. The Central Bank could have said yes or no, but then we go to the basis on which it decided to do so or not do so. If the Central Bank had said no, if Ireland had denied approval for the transfer of approval, is it not the case that it could not have happened and Israel...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Going into the process around the approval of the approval, Mr. Cross mentioned the prospectus regulation. According to Article 28 of the prospectus regulation, subject to various things, the competent authority may transfer. It is not an obligation. Going to the Central Bank's own guidance on the prospectus regulatory framework, and I am reading from the bank's guidance: The Central...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: And they are not exhaustive.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We will come back to that legal basis because I would disagree with Mr. Cross. I do not believe that is clear at all. For the record, we should be clear that it nowhere says that the domicile of the issuer and so forth are the key factors. That is not stated in the prospectus regulatory framework. It simply says that these are factors which may include those listed, and then it says that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To be clear, Mr. Makhlouf is arguing that the Central Bank was fettered, that it was unable-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To be very clear, the language "sole and absolute discretion" is not my language.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That language is from the Central Bank's guidance-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: -----so it is its guidance that states the Central Bank may accept or reject in "sole and absolute discretion".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is the Central Bank's language-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: -----so, to be clear, I am not putting words or phrases-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This is the Central Bank's language. Mr. Makhlouf has told us he believes the Central Bank was "fettered". I am not clear what it is fettered by. It is not fettered by, as we have put forward, the prospectus regulation, which allows it to consider matters and principles of international law.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Mr. Makhlouf believes the bank is fettered by-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: So Mr. Makhlouf fundamentally believes that the bank is not able to consider matters of international law, as set out in paragraph 88 of the preamble to the prospectus regulation, when considering a request for approval of a transfer of approval.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The witnesses have spoken about connectivity but have not addressed the other concerns. I just want to finish this line of questioning, Chair. I will come back then-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will ask my other questions in the second round. If I may, I will ask about due diligence. Did the witnesses feel that responsibility and due diligence were or are a factor in relation to the transfer of approval of this process to the relevant authority in Luxembourg? Were the considerations of due diligence the bank would have to a fellow body in that? In addition, did the bank give...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: -----and then I will come back in again.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: And the principle of consistent interpretation-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Just to be clear, Mr. Makhlouf thinks the principle of consistent interpretation, which requires that the enactment of EU laws be consistent with international law, sits alongside his having said that the Genocide Convention and the ICJ do not play a role in relation to this process.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will hold the rest of my questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Israeli Bond Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will just come in there although I know there may be a third round. One thing I am a bit concerned about is that I have been hearing statements from Mr. Cross to the effect that we cannot just do something we would like to do. We cannot just do it because we want to unless there are sanctions. I feel this is muddying the waters because what we are discussing is law. We are discussing...