Results 18,601-18,620 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I must wait to hear the proposal. One suggestion for a bridge is that the Greek authorities would be allowed to sell treasury bills up to the level of the bridge required. Originally they were talking about €15 billion, but it now appears the bridge would be more than that, because there has been fall-off in the collection of taxes. The European Central Bank has set a limit on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: As I said, I have great sympathy for the Greek people and absolutely recognise, as anyone would, the mandate given to the new Greek Government by Greek voters and the Greek population, but I am holding my position until I hear the proposals because to speculate now might give absolutely the wrong steer, as the situation is very sensitive. I thought there would be more time, but things have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: A new government has been elected in Greece on a platform of change. As I said, I respect the mandate it has received. Obviously, what is at issue is the nature of that change. When we were elected in 2011, we were committed to making changes and we did so. We negotiated the changes and I put forward the proposition in Europe that, as far as I was concerned, it was one piece of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I will outline for the Deputy two principles to help him. First, we will not favour any write-off of debt for the reasons I have given because if we write off debt, it will make a hole in everyone else's balance sheet. If we park debt - even if no interest is being paid on it - the debt is still owed on the balance sheet. Second, I want Greece to stay in the eurozone. I would not favour...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: We have had no contact with the Greek authorities at ministerial or ambassadorial level. I have had no contact.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: it is also true that, as a sovereign nation, Greece is responsible for its own affairs and must take responsibility for the consequences of its actions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Much of it will be private sector money as we leverage it. We will try to obtain sanction for priority projects and then fund them through loans and with equity from the figure of €310 billion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Public private partnerships are off balance sheet. As the Italians began to negotiate flexibility in the expenditure ceilings under the new European fiscal rules, exemptions were made for essential infrastructure for countries the growth potential of which had not been realised.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: No, but we are looking for some flexibility in certain areas.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: We will have to see how it works out because there are many moving parts.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: There is no requirement for the use of own resources, but we could match with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, and so on, with no impact on Government accounting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Obviously, the full rules have not yet been developed. This is a new initiative, but we are hopeful we may have some leeway to invest without it being on the balance sheet.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: That is the space we are trying to widen. If it was to run through the capital programme, we would be confined. Since it is a new European initiative to generate growth and jobs, however, it would be unreasonable to deprive us of what was available in other countries.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: It is a medium-term, not a long-term, issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: "No" is the answer to the Deputy's last question, but I hope that in the course of the year infrastructural projects will be under way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: It will happen mid-year, in July.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: We have submitted, as has every other European country, a list of appropriate infrastructural projects, from which we will list priorities in the next week or two. The priorities will be those projects that will contribute most to growth and job creation and those that are nearest to being shovel ready in order that they can be commenced quickly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Yes. We hope to have projects under way in the course of 2015.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: We are discussing the usual list of projects. I can give the Deputy a summary of what has been included.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: The list covers public and public-private projects, for example, energy union, with a total investment of €2.555 billion; knowledge and the digital economy; resources and the environment; transport; social infrastructure; and small to medium-sized enterprise, SME, lending. We believe we can have social housing included before final decisions are made.