Results 1,361-1,380 of 11,979 for speaker:Billy Kelleher

Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: If Opposition Members take a simplistic view that all the mistakes were made by internal decisions, they would not be able to address the problem.

Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The simplistic view is that all this was due to internal decisions.

Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: When I hear commentaries inside or outside this House, by and large, that simplistic view is put across.

Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I am quite happy that Deputies can correct the record at any time when they stand up to deliberate here this evening. We lost competitiveness during the sustained period of an economic boom. That is an accepted fact. We paid ourselves increased wages, which undermined our competitiveness vis-À-vis our European counterparts and further afield. There was a property bubble, but I did not see...

Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: Everybody was quite happy to see employment opportunities for young people leaving school. Many others came from abroad to work here. Everybody on all sides of the House welcomed that. In fact, many of the budgetary proposals being put forward by the Government at the time to try to deflate the property bubble were opposed.

Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I can cite stamp duty as a very simple one. The Opposition said it should be abolished, which would have inflated the housing market even further.

Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I will make my contribution and then I will listen intently to other speakers. On competitiveness, we must readjust how we pay ourselves. If we do not, we will lose more jobs and it will further erode our competitiveness. In recent times, labour unit costs in Ireland went down by about 4% and rose in other European countries by between 2.5% and 3%. That in itself has made us more...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (15 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The role of the Waterford County and Waterford City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) is to provide support for small businesses with 10 employees or fewer in the start-up and expansion phases, to promote and develop indigenous micro-enterprise potential and to stimulate economic activity and entrepreneurship at local level throughout Waterford City and County. The CEBs deliver a series of Programmes...

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue and I look forward to listening to the rest of the contributions. We have to speak about the budget in the context of the difficulties we are facing. Senators opposite referred to the acceptance of €4 billion in savings to stabilise the budget deficit. That is very noble from the Opposition, but when it gets down to specifics, the proposals...

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I am quite sure that would not be different in this House. Reference has been made to the difficulties faced by this country. Everybody accepts that the challenges are enormous. The purpose of the budget last week was to stabilise the public finances, to reduce the budget deficit by €4 billion and to send out a strong message that Ireland is capable of dealing with its own difficulties....

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: Let us be quite clear. The reduction in child benefit for those on family income supplement, low pay or social welfare will be compensated by increases in child dependant allowance. There are issues in the budget that should be highlighted, even though I do not expect the Opposition to do so. However, if Members are discussing the issues in public fora, it is important to put out the facts...

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The reductions will put pressure on families and on people who are living on the margins and finding it very difficult. We acknowledge that, but we did not go out to try to diminish anybody's living standards. When we try to find €4 billion, it is not tenable or feasible for any Senator to state in this House that they could have found it somewhere else.

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I have read the Fine Gael document, and although it is a very fine document, it is built on aspiration.

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: It is very difficult to put a figure on aspiration when we have to deal with the critical issue of trying to stabilise the finances. That document is about selling the family silverware at a time when it is very difficult to bring any investment into the country-----

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The other issue of great importance is the attempt to stabilise the credit and banking systems in this country. Throwaway remarks have been made and a simplistic view propagated that the Government is taking from those without means to give to the banks. A functioning, modern economy must have a stable banking system.

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: Internationally banks have been under-----

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: If a country wishes to develop its economy, it must have a stable banking system.

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The difficulties in the credit institutions have not been completely resolved and will have to be addressed again in 2010. As everyone is aware, credit is not flowing to the broader economy and this is having a drag effect on economic growth and stimuli. I hope growth will return by mid or late 2010. I must refer again to what the Government is trying to achieve in the banking system as the...

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The bank guarantee introduced on 29 September 2008 was a fundamentally important factor. At that time, significant international pressure and madness in the money markets could have resulted in a systemic collapse of the important Irish banks.

Seanad: Budget 2010: Motion (16 Dec 2009)

Billy Kelleher: As we approached Christmas last year, Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised. One must consider the decision in the context of the time. The meltdown in the financial markets had created a global crisis. Failure to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank would have had a knock on effect on the other banks.