Results 9,201-9,220 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (21 Jul 2020)

Damien English: Will the Deputy be there too for the entertainment?

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (21 Jul 2020)

Damien English: The initial efforts were with the main banks because they have 90% of the customers. It will be open to all lending institutions to use the scheme.

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (Resumed) (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: We will probably get a chance on Committee Stage to go through many of the suggestions that were made. I thank the House for the support for the Bill. Most Members across the board supported it. I noticed that Deputy Martin Kenny did not like how we are going to administer the loans, but he did not put forward any other way to do it. Most Members agree, therefore, that this is the right...

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I got a chance to touch on this briefly on Second Stages. I will first explain what section 5 is about. It introduces a new section 4A into the Act of 2012. This new section 4A provides the Minister with the power, subject to the consent of both the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, to give guarantees in accordance with the Covid-19 credit guarantee...

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of interest costs because I did not get the chance to go into the detail on this yesterday. It is important that when we are having these discussions, SMEs, as well as those who provide assistance to them, such as State agencies and Chartered Accountants Ireland, recognise that this is only one of several interventions that the State is making, using...

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I will try to deal with most of the issues raised. I will not stray into the mortgage issue. I will leave that to the Minister for Finance. I will respond to the questions in reverse order. Deputy Mattie McGrath did contribute to the debate last night and I did try to address some of his concerns. The Deputy had to leave early last night as well and I did not get an opportunity to do...

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: We are using the existing bank network to distribute the finance to people who need it. If we set up our own network, it could slow down the process, it could be cumbersome and costly and so on. The credit guarantee, which works all across Europe, is done this way. We guarantee the financial products. This puts the banks in a stronger position to give people a better deal on their loans....

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I did not interrupt Deputy O'Reilly when she spoke.

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I will use Deputy O'Reilly's words.

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: With respect to Deputy O'Reilly's terms, I put them back at her. In my view, her colleague did not act like a businessman last night. Rather, he acted like a child and a spoiled child at that. He knew that the European Council meetings ran over by a couple of days, the knock-on effect of which was that the Cabinet and sub-Cabinet meetings were rescheduled. The Tánaiste wanted to be...

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: With respect, I was asked to address the situation last night. People do not like that I am here; that is fair enough.

Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: With regard to the issue of evictions raised by Deputy McGrath, the legislation that went through the House towards the end of March to ban evictions was solely in regard to domestic and residential housing. I took that legislation through on behalf of my then senior Minister. We announced that there were no evictions and that businesses are still under pressure but those evictions are...

Debenhams Ireland Redundancies: Motion [Private Members] (22 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “extends its sympathy to the employees of Debenhams Ireland who have lost their jobs given the liquidation of the company; acknowledges the distress and worry that this is causing for employees of Debenhams Ireland, and the added difficulty at the present time...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I am pleased to be appearing in the Seanad as the Minister of State with responsibility for employment affairs and retail businesses to bring forward the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020. The €2 billion scheme is a cornerstone of the suite of supports being announced by the Government as part of the July stimulus package. It is focused on SMEs, which is key. I want to be...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Damien English: They do.

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I will try to answer as many questions as I can. I will also deal with Committee and Report Stages. I thank Members for their support for the Bill. I sense that there is general support for it, although some have concerns and worries about the ability of the banks to respond to the situation. The discussion is similar to that which we had here two weeks ago. It is a recognition by...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Damien English: It is available, but only as of four weeks ago so it would be hard to judge the full drawdown. My understanding is that it is available. I will check it because the Senator has raised it.

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Damien English: I will check it. I am telling the Senator what it is about and I will check it with the Minister. Senator Higgins asked about the EU recovery plan and what it can be used for. She made a good point about using that funding for public investment and public services. A major part of the response following Covid-19 will be building public capacity and investing in our public services, our...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Damien English: Again, there will be interest at a lower cost, and we have to work on that as well. The benefits of the scheme are to be passed on to the SMEs and our job is to ensure the focus is on them.

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Damien English: This is about interest rate reduction. Currently, banks can loan to those companies at a certain percentage rate. This scheme will mean that the banks will be lending at a lower interest rate. The profits and benefits from that will go to the businesses and that will help them stay open, trade and create jobs. That is the focus here. The Senator wants to have a conversation about the tax...