Results 1,401-1,420 of 1,760 for speaker:Aideen Hayden

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Green Paper on Capital Markets Union: Discussion (31 Mar 2015)

Aideen Hayden: -----than in Europe. That means the reality is the opposite. It is 20:80 versus 80:20. There is a general perspective that the Irish financial system does not support SMEs or investment in SMEs. We need to move towards more engagement by venture capitalists in the European markets in order to promote and stimulate growth. Mr. O'Mahoney mentioned in his initial presentation the idea of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Green Paper on Capital Markets Union: Discussion (31 Mar 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Mr. O'Mahoney. We will conclude very shortly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Green Paper on Capital Markets Union: Discussion (31 Mar 2015)

Aideen Hayden: In the technology sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Green Paper on Capital Markets Union: Discussion (31 Mar 2015)

Aideen Hayden: On behalf of the joint committee I thank our witnesses, Mr. O'Mahoney from Chambers of Ireland and Ms Breheny from the Irish Venture Capital Association, for participating in this meeting and for the material they supplied to the committee. I propose to suspend briefly to facilitate the arrival of the witnesses for the next session. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Senator Mooney raised an interesting question about the role of State directors on the boards of banks in which the State has a shareholding. I suppose the question really is what are they there for? We like to think they are there to defend the public interest, but is that the reality? Or are they there basically as directors to defend the banks' balance sheets and, ultimately, the bottom...

Seanad: National Integration Strategy: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I welcome our visitors to the Gallery and I also welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, to the House. I echo the sentiments of my colleague, Senator Bacik, in congratulating him on the work he has done as Minister of State with responsibility for new communities, culture and equality. I take the opportunity to second the Labour Party Private Members'...

Seanad: National Integration Strategy: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: It was not fixed; it was a truly merited outcome.

Seanad: National Integration Strategy: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: The entire festival was a very ambitious effort and it has been a very positive experience. It was well worth it to celebrate the diversity that Polish people bring to this country. The sporting element of the event is very important also. We were down a man in the Seanad but that is the way it goes. A recent study from NUI Galway showed that the most effective way to get Muslim youth...

Seanad: National Integration Strategy: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I will take just one minute to conclude. Such students work hard to complete their leaving certificate examinations, yet they face the same third-level fees that wealthy overseas students would be charged for medical courses. If we are to have a fair and equal society we need to change this system as a matter of urgency. I echo Senator Bacik's comment that ethnic status should be awarded...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Given that we have covered much ground, I will recap some of it. Is Mr. Owens of the opinion, based on the best available knowledge, that Cork is adequately covered in terms of flood defences by the OPW's work?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I am involved in a voluntary organisation with a premises on the South Mall which has been flooded twice in recent years. Am I correct that no real, permanent outcome is anticipated until 2020?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: There is no immediate solution to the difficulty.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: We are discussing the longer-term situation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Mr. Owens's point is that there is no mechanism that obliges insurers to take into account remedial works that have been undertaken.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: We have a very commercially-driven insurance market in which insurers will decide not to cover certain households based on their risk of flooding. It is not just a Cork problem. In Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown we have a major problem and have had flooding in a considerable part of the constituency. Any insurance company can decline cover to any household based on excellent information...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: We have no appeals function, body or independent regulator of any description that allows people to report that they have been unfairly refused flood insurance despite the remedial works their local authority has done. Am I correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: The first question is what we need to do to address it. We have an entirely commercial market with no right of appeal from the average household, which is unusual in a European context, as Dr. Surminski has pointed out. Is Dr. Surminski aware of any other countries in which there are appeals mechanisms by which an individual householder or business can appeal against an insurer's decision...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: That brings me to my next point, which was also raised by one of my colleagues. Obviously, in a totally commercially driven insurance market such as we have here, insurance companies plan to make profit. Therefore, they cherry-pick the easiest targets and leave behind the old and the sick as much as they possibly can, in this case, the flood-ridden. Is there enough competition in the Irish...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I will conclude by making a comment more than anything else. While I do not have any statistics on this, it is my experience that premiums overall in this country went up considerably in the past 12 months. One point to bear in mind is the idea raised earlier of a levy on all insurance policies to protect areas where it is particularly difficult to get insurance. We must bear in mind that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Insurance Cover: Discussion (15 Apr 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Before we begin I remind members that we deal with correspondence and other agenda items in private following this session. This is session B, involving representatives from the Office of Public Works and Insurance Ireland. The purpose of this session is to continue our deliberations on the issue of the provision of insurance in areas at risk of flooding and subsidence. I welcome Mr. Tony...