Results 10,761-10,780 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 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am not sure what will be the NTMA's timeline as it will be profiling debt for several ways forward. The agency is examining the best possible way of doing this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: A political discussion will take place on Tuesday to give political guidance to our working group. This group will then take the process further. There are differences of opinion among member states on this matter and for this reason nothing has been fixed yet. We took possession of a Commission paper on the issue and produced a Presidency paper. The resolution framework is designed to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: That matter is being negotiated. Ireland is one of the countries that has resolution legislation in place. Deputies Michael McGrath and Pearse Doherty participated in the debate on the bank resolution Bill and will recall that it establishes a fund by means of a levy on the financial institutions. The first step on the European policy of resolution is to have resolution mechanisms in place...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is very hard to predict when we will reach that point, although a timeline was set out for the single supervisory mechanism, resolution and the empowerment of the ESM. The timeframe is more or less in line with what was planned last summer and we are moving along. It will be next year before the single supervisory mechanism is implemented. Regulations, protocols and a handbook must be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: It would be too strong a description to say it is under negotiation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: There are discussions about the matter. It came up again in last week's discussions with the troika. A report in one of the German newspapers yesterday or this morning suggested that the European Central Bank would buy assets like tracker mortgages as part of some kind of warehousing arrangement. It was written as if it was a briefed story. One can never be sure about the provenance of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: Yes, among other things. It is an option we would like to continue to explore.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is not clear yet. A number of policy papers are being discussed almost in parallel. Work is being done on what the functions of the ESM would be, in respect of the banks, and how the detail of that would be worked out. There has been a series of political discussions at a series of Eurogroup meetings. Those discussions are giving guidance to what is, in effect, a drafting committee....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: I do not know how that will work out. Obviously, some countries would like that to happen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: Our policy position runs from the meeting of Heads of State and Government that took place on 29 June 2012. We agreed to a banking union, to the separation of the sovereign from the banks, to the taxpayers' risk being taken out of the equation and to the ESM being the primary source of capital for banks that require capital. We agreed that it would apply retrospectively. That is our policy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: I think I have given a pretty clear answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: I thought it was quite clear. There are two different situations. The first of them involves an insolvent bank that has gone bust. Creditors have to be paid. There is a sequence of bail-ins. It happened in the Netherlands recently. It happened here with Anglo Irish Bank, only the wrong decisions were taken. In the second situation, the banks are stress tested and it is decided that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: If it needed additional capital, the first thing it would do is go to its private shareholders to ask for extra capital from its owners. That would be the first move. They might decide to go to the market to raise capital. I would like, somewhere on the high priority side, to see the ESM being a source of capital for banks that require capital. I would not see the ESM as a provider of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: Cyprus was a very difficult situation. It differed from any other banking situation in Europe. I do not think it should be used as a template for action in Europe. I do not want to use Cyprus as the starting point for this. I am saying that if banks have to be resolved because they are bust and they are not going to trade again, that is a different situation from the situation of a bank...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: Complicated issues cannot be addressed with "Yes" and "No" replies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have to give the Deputy value.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: Our view is that the process is working very well here. There is empirical evidence to show that is the case. The deficit is being systematically reduced ahead of target, our debt is being made sustainable and the economy is in its third consecutive year of growth. However, I agree with the commentators who argue for greater concentration on growing the economy and creating additional...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: What does the term "moral crisis" mean?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have laid out what we are doing. We have advocated additional measures and succeeded in securing them. A greater concentration on growing the economies of European countries is needed and this requirement must be reflected in domestic and European policies. If, however, the Deputy believes this will be a substitute for the corrective measures that are being taken, he is wrong. The model...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 May 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Ceann Comhairle ruled that it is not appropriate for the Houses of the Oireachtas to discuss the views of the President. For this reason, I do not propose to get into that space. Piling deficit upon deficit and debt upon debt is not a solution. Whatever else we do, we must deal with the deficit and our debt must be sustainable - that is the starting point. After that, we can build on...