Results 11,541-11,560 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Seanad: Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: Amendments Nos. 21 and 22 seek to make provision for debt collectors and debt collection services. As the Minister for Finance, I have no responsibility for the regulation of debt collectors and debt collecting firms. Debt collection services apply across a significantly wider range of activities than the recovery of money for financial products, for example, in the case of utilities,...

Seanad: Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I will draw the Central Bank's attention to this short debate on this set of amendments today. I shall ask it to look at the views expressed by Senators Michael D'Arcy and Reilly to see if, in its opinion, any further action is necessary.

Seanad: Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: These amendments seek to increase the maximum penalty under the administrative sanction regime tenfold, from €500,000 to €5 million for an individual and from €5 million to €50 million for a body corporate. It is important that the fines are of sufficient scale to act as a deterrent to those who seek to profit from breaching their requirements. The Bill already...

Seanad: Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I wish to make a point for the sake of the record. The base legislation is the 1942 Act but I believe that the penalties have been updated more than once in the meantime.

Seanad: Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The amendment seeks to require the Financial Services Ombudsman to include in its report the responses of the financial services provider to complaints made and reported by the Financial Services Ombudsman. However, I am satisfied that the naming provisions provided for in the Bill are sufficiently robust to provide consumers with information to assist them in making decisions about availing...

Seanad: Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: This is a technical amendment. The amendment involves an amendment to section 47 of the Central Bank and Credit Institutions (Resolution) Act 2011. It is a drafting amendment and is consequential on changes made to section 46 of the 2011 Act on Report Stage in the Dáil.

Seanad: Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: This amendment is technical in nature and is designed to remedy an incorrect reference in the Central Bank and Credit Institutions (Resolution) Act 2011. The objective of this amendment is to ensure the Central Bank is legally able to share confidential information to facilitate the Central Bank, the Minister, the Governor, the head of financial regulation or a special manager appointed...

Seanad: Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I thank Senators for the expeditious handling of this important legislation on Committee Stage. In particular, I thank Senator Barrett who did most of the heavy lifting today.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Parliamentary Inquiries (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Government has already indicated that it is determined to uncover the causes of the banking crisis in Ireland that caused such devastation in the Irish economy and necessitated the bailout from our international partners in late 2010. The key mechanism to achieve this will be the establishment of a formal inquiry into the banking crisis, enabling all those involved to come before the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Parliamentary Inquiries (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I would not disagree with the objective stated by the Deputy for an inquiry. It has to be a fully open inquiry and must pursue the facts wherever that pursuit leads. The Deputy is aware that there was a referendum which would have empowered an Oireachtas committee, or committees, much more strongly than they are currently empowered. I still think, however, that the inquiry can be conducted...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Parliamentary Inquiries (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have not seen Governor Honohan's comments. The Governor and Central Bank are under law independent in the exercise of their functions. I do not answer for the Central Bank before the House. Governor Honohan was involved and was one of the principals in one of the three inquiries that have taken place. The Deputy might seek clarification from the bank.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Staff (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: Like every citizen in this country who is working hard to restore the economy, I am deeply disturbed by the taped conversations from 2008 involving these executives of the former Anglo Irish Bank and dismayed to hear senior banking executives refer to the banking crisis with such arrogance. Irish taxpayers have grimly endured the austere cost of the bank recapitalisation and the bank...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Staff (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The new management and staffing arrangements of IBRC-Anglo Irish Bank were in place long before I became Minister for Finance. I have no role in the day-to-day running of any of the banks and decisions about who does and does not work in a bank are a matter for the board and management of the bank in question. The Deputy is moving on to very dangerous ground in naming individuals and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Staff (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is a matter for the directors, boards and management of banks to decide who does and does not work in a particular bank. I remind the Deputy - I am sure he will be disappointed to hear this - that I brought in a special liquidator and liquidated IBRC last February. We closed down the bank. The Deputy would love to be able to point across the Chamber and tell me the individuals in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Investigations (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I confirm that neither I nor any official in the Department of Finance was aware of the contents of the tapes which have emerged in the media until now. The contents of the tapes were not raised with my Department by the board or management of IBRC and my attention has not been drawn to any Government member, staff, adviser or associate of the Department who was previously made aware of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Investigations (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: Seemingly he did. As I said in my original reply, in 2009, the Financial Regulator compelled the production of approximately 45,000 hard copy documents and approximately 9 million electronic documents. The electronic material remains in the possession of the bank as the Financial Regulator investigation was deferred in 2009 pending DPP proceedings. As I understand it from the information...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Investigations (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The question was whether tapes exist in the other banks, and I assume they do. If a customer rings a bank looking for a statement, there is usually a warning on the answering machine that tells the customer his conversation could be recorded. Anyway, what I was unaware of was that there were internal recordings of conversations between banking executives. I had thought only the calls from...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: On 13 March last, the Central Bank, in its capacity as regulator of credit institutions, announced new measures to address the problem of mortgage arrears. These included the publication of performance targets for the six main banks in respect of the number of sustainable solutions to be proposed to mortgage borrowers. Initially, the Central Bank required the relevant lenders to propose by...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I agree with the Deputy. This is a difficult situation and I am glad that there is now movement to resolve it. On the data available to me on the targets set down, approximately 25,000 offers have been made across the banks already. I can get more precise data for the Deputy. I do not have to hand the breakdown on what are the specific solutions across the range of solutions that may be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have some statistics that may be of help to the Deputy. At the end of March 2013, a total stock of 79,689 private dwelling house mortgage accounts were categorised as restructured. That is an increase of 1.8% on the end of December 2012. Of the restructured accounts, 53% are not in arrears. New data collected this quarter, that is, quarter 1 of 2013, indicated that 76% of restructured...