Results 1,481-1,500 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Feb 2009)

Shane Ross: I want to say a few words on what was said by Senators Fitzgerald and Alex White. I do not know whether there should be a national Government — it is a difficult call to make and is a matter for political parties — but we should recognise that the Irish economy is at the eleventh hour. We now face very serious circumstances. This was stated in some media so it is fair enough to talk...

Seanad: Banking Sector: Motion (25 Feb 2009)

Shane Ross: I thank Senator Quinn for sharing time. We have debated this issue in various forms, on various occasions and at some length. The motion represents an opportunity to mark time. I agree with Senator Quinn that it is not helpful to harbour resentments about the past. The problem is that the Government does not recognise the nature of the crisis with which we are faced. There is a worrying...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2009)

Shane Ross: Will the Leader arrange for the Minister for Finance to come to the House? The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Martin Mansergh, has been to the House for various debates and, while he is a man of great ability, he is not the real McCoy. We desperately need the Minister for Finance to come and listen to our opinions on various matters, not just the Bill we will discuss...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2009)

Shane Ross: I apologise, but the new man is son of Brian. He is almost a duplicate or a clone who will implement similar policies and who is deeply imbedded not only in the banking culture but in the Bank of Ireland culture. It was even more devastating to read The Irish Times this morning and see my view confirmed that the new chief executive oversaw the growth of the bank's Irish development and land...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2009)

Shane Ross: ——because he has got an input into this. He has two members on the board. Were they asleep or were they doing his bidding? If they were doing his bidding, the Government might as well give up imposing a new culture on the banks. This is the alarming lesson we have from this appointment. We are going absolutely nowhere if this type of thing continues.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Second Stage. (26 Feb 2009)

Shane Ross: I thank Senator Leyden. The Bill is neither fair nor enough. The Government has succeeded, in an extraordinary ham-handed way, in creating a new class of victims, which it need not have done had it a balanced package. It is not enough. The world markets, impartial and independent observers, do not believe that we will get enough money from the Bill to scratch the surface. Next year, we...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: Like other speakers, I offer a guarded welcome to the Government's decision to introduce a mini-budget at the end of this month. However, even though there will be relief at this decision, the Government does not deserve great credit. Its management of the economy and its attitude towards the crisis in the banking sector simply has been to react to the latest disaster or set of figures. It...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: The trend of the Government has been constantly to find a crutch which would allow it to share the blame. If it is not the social partners who, God knows, will probably be brought back into the equation in the coming weeks, it is the Opposition that will be the crutch, and therefore I beg Opposition Members to be careful. Yesterday's figures indicate we are very close to national bankruptcy...

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: I second the amendment to the motion. It is unfortunate for the proposers of this motion that when they put it down, it was bland and innocuous and probably meant to launch them on a crusade that identifies with a movement generally considered to be harmless, successful and socially beneficial. What happened yesterday and today was tough on them, with events in Mitchelstown particularly...

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: The responses given by Ministers in respect of amendments to Bills of this nature contain a common thread. I find such responses disappointing. The common thread to which I refer relates to the "hands off" attitude to the banks. I have spoken about this matter so often that I sometimes exhaust myself with the monotony of what I say. However, I cannot understand why the Government has not...

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: These individuals are putting up two fingers to the Government on a daily basis and they are winning. When the chief executive of AIB put two fingers up to the Irish people last week, I really began to despair. The individual in question stated he would remain in his job for the foreseeable future. When asked what he would be paid, in words reminiscent of those used by the former chief...

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: There was no need for the report.

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: I am at a loss about a couple of issues and I ask the Minister of State for an explanation. When €7 billion has been taken from the National Pensions Reserve Fund and split evenly between Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks, how much will be left in the fund? On the basis that these figures cannot be calculated daily, I ask the Minister of State for a reasonably up-to-date figure,...

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: How much will it be this year?

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: The payment into the fund from the Exchequer.

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: May I pursue this further? If €1.6 billion is being borrowed, or coming out of Exchequer funds, whichever one likes — it does not really matter how one designates it — is there not the possibility of making a saving? It is a reasonable point to make. This fund is now being used for utterly different purposes from those for which it was set up. That is why this legislation is before...

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: The Minister is ruling out the possibility of making a massive saving by saying the Government will go ahead and borrow the money on the market to put into the fund. Is that correct? I want to get this right. We are actually going to go out and borrow the money to put into the fund. Is that right?

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: Why?

Seanad: Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2009)

Shane Ross: There is €16.4 billion minus €4 billion — that is, €12.4 billion — left in the fund. Is that correct?