Results 14,061-14,080 of 26,081 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Seanad: Criminal Law (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (30 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Minister has undertaken to deal with them in the Dáil. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (30 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: They were constructive contributions. Would Senator Norris like to comment in the same spirit?

Seanad: Criminal Law (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (30 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: By way of comment, I have no doubt that the bipartisan approach taken to the Bill we have just completed will continue with the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, the debate on which I await with great interest.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: I hope I will be forgiven for saying there is a lot of déjà vu around the credit unions. We had the credit union sector in before the committee many times. As someone who looks at things on a practical level, I would like to have seen a lot more progress. I am a major believer in the credit union movement. I know virtually all the witnesses. They have a vital role to play....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: To cut to the chase, some credit unions provide mortgages, but they should be in the market providing competition for small mortgages. I accept the credit union movement went through great difficulty in terms of restructuring, yet when one looks at the metrics, on page 14 of the report, loans have gone up by a very small amount. The loan-to-asset ratio is 27%. There is no reason it should...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: It would require no State investment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: We spent three or four days intensively investigating the Sparkasse model in Germany. It does not make sense to set up such a system. We already have a viable network. By doing that, it would give a framework that would enable all those other areas to come in. Why has the increase in lending been so low and why is the loan-to-asset ratio by credit unions on the low side? What is the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: And mortgages in a more structured way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: Then there is the Canadian model and that will require co-operation within the credit union movement in terms of expertise. A back office needs to be set up. There have to be Chinese walls because credit unions themselves are entitled to confidentiality in terms of dealing with their own individual customers. I know I am slightly diverting but are the credit unions losing money on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: They are all interlinked.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: The base of my question is why lending growth has been so low. Are the credit unions losing money on SME micro finance? What is causing that? That leads into the restrictions on lending. Could the witnesses give their overall perspective on mortgages, current accounts and debit cards? There is a glorious opportunity for the credit union movement to fill the gap, while retaining the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: It has actually gone down.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: That would not account for it. Savings have gone up by €1.85 million since 2015, but that would not account for everything.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: As matters stand, what is restricting the credit unions in growing lending? Are they making money on micro-finance?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: Why not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: What rate of interest is charged? Is it 12%?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: What rate of interest must be charged on a loan to cover overheads and make a profit? We are talking about raising the limits from 12% to 24% if one goes from 1% to 2%. The question I am asking is-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: I know that. If a rate of 12% is being charged by the credit union, as at present, how is it losing money?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: On average, what percentage does the credit union-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Union Advisory Committee: Discussion (31 Jan 2019)

Kieran O'Donnell: No. This is basic stuff. It is all very well saying there is a loss, but there has to be a reason. I want to know the rate of interest a credit union needs to charge to cover its overheads. The question one then has to ask is whether the credit union movement's cost base is too high. I have to ask the questions. I am here a long time and credit union representatives have been appearing...