Results 13,221-13,240 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (30 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: All transfers of funds between votes will be carried out on an Exchequer-neutral basis in all cases. In addition, the re-allocation of resources will be provided for by way of Amended Estimates or Further Revised Estimates as appropriate. Some administrative costs will arise (for example, stationery costs) and I will be asking the relevant Departments to ensure that these are kept to a...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (30 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Prior to Finance Act 1999, any person taking a pension under a defined contribution scheme or a Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC), was required to purchase an annuity with the pension fund money remaining after the drawdown of the appropriate tax-free lump sum. Finance Act 1999 introduced significant changes which gave a considerable degree of control, flexibility and personal choice to...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (30 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As the Deputy is aware the report of the Special Group on Public Numbers and Expenditure Programmes outlined a wide range of proposals across all departments, a number of which can only be achieved through restructuring over a number of years. The implementation of the proposals for my Department and the Offices under its aegis is ongoing, and initial progress has been made in this regard in...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (30 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that Revenues Customer Service Standards, published in August 2009, state that they will register 100% of employer registrations within 5 working days and 100% of VAT registrations within 10 working days. The 10 working day standard for VAT registrations takes into account an extra level of scrutiny carried out by Revenue to ensure that the VAT...

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Following an application by the Financial Regulator yesterday, Mr. Justice John Cooke in the High Court appointed Mr. Michael McAteer and Mr. Paul McCann from Grant Thornton to act as the two joint provisional administrators to Quinn Insurance Limited, under the Insurance (No 2) Act 1983. They have already begun their work and have an on-site presence in the company. They will oversee its...

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: First, with regard to the suggestion, which I understand was made in a press release circulated on behalf of the Quinn Group, that this was a highly aggressive and unnecessary action which endangers jobs, I make it clear that the regulator is acting in the proper performance of his functions. That is what I and, I am sure, every Member of this House would expect him to do. The regulator has...

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: First, I would like to put certain facts on the record of the House in regard to Quinn Insurance Limited generally, which might assist the House in understanding the significance of the company, the number of employees involved and the prospects of the company in the home market. Quinn Insurance Limited has approximately 1.3 million policyholders - 920,000 in the State and 365,000 in the...

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The suggestion was that this was a highly aggressive and unnecessary action. I was anxious in that context to underline the statutory functions of the Financial Regulator and to express my full confidence in him. I do not accept the suggestion that this is a highly aggressive and unnecessary action. On the question of the risk to jobs and employment, the Financial Regulator, the...

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Deputy Bruton will appreciate that the amount of information at our disposal at this stage is necessarily interim in character. It is not possible to arrive at a final assessment on some of the questions he asked. It is clear that when the regulator saw the difficulty, his immediate and proper instinct was to apply to the court to protect the position. With regard to the persons for whose...

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: -----or was required. These transactions existed entirely outside the regulatory system. Beyond that I am not in a position to go further this afternoon.

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: According to my information, the creditors in whose favour these instruments were executed did not include Anglo Irish Bank or parties associated with it. In regard to a former Secretary General of my Department, I have no information on that issue. I am not aware that a former Secretary General was involved with the Quinn Group at any stage. As to gifts between companies, Deputy Burton is...

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am using the term "special contingent" in the context of insolvency law and not in regard to balance sheet operations. It is important to assure policy holders that their claims can be met as they fall due. The basis for the concern about solvency outlined in the application to the court related to contingency rather than an actual position.

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am not trying to lecture the Deputy when I say it is important to understand that the issue does not pertain to assets and liabilities but to the ability to pay obligations as they fall due. The statement in my earlier reply on assets and liabilities is the current position on solvency buffers as a result of the information which came to the attention of the Financial Regulator. The...

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I refer to Deputy O'Donnell's question. The hearing will take place in the High Court on Monday, 12 April. That will provide the regulator with an opportunity to make a fuller case for the appointment of the administrator. It will allow Quinn Insurance to either address the concerns of the regulator or counter them. The court will then have to make its decision on the evidence submitted....

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is business as usual as far as hospitals and policies are concerned. That is the position and I see no credit risk at this stage.

Insurance Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The administrators will do their work, we will have a far clearer picture on 11 April and we will proceed from there. As I indicated already to Deputy Burton in respect of Anglo Irish Bank, on the information available to date the creditors in question were not Anglo Irish Bank.

Written Answers — National Treasury Management Agency: National Treasury Management Agency (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The National Treasury Management Agency is responsible for borrowing on behalf of the Exchequer. In order to raise funding, the Agency has developed and continues to develop a wide portfolio of debt instruments designed to respond to the needs of the market and to ensure the appropriate overall structuring and management of the National Debt. The Agency has indicated that index-linked bonds...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The maximum allowable pension fund that an individual can build up from tax-relieved contributions is known as the Standard Fund Threshold or SFT. The SFT is a lifetime limit which was introduced in Budget and Finance Act 2006 at an initial level of €5 million and was increased in line with an indexation factor in 2007 and 2008 to its current value of just over €5.4 million. In line with...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Office of Public Works have informed me that they are in the process of collating the data requested by the Deputy in his PQ of March 2010 in relation to the amount they have spent on car parking facilities provided to Government Departments in 2009. They expect to be in a position to have this information supplied to the Deputy by the end of next week.

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that while there are no Stamp Duty reliefs relating specifically to a change of residence to accommodate the disability of a family member, exemptions or reliefs (depending on floor area) are available to all non-first time buyers, regardless of circumstances leading to the change of residence, in respect of the purchase of a new house or apartment to...