Results 20,041-20,060 of 35,829 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Government support engagement?

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Government support engagement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: To follow up on the previous question, when was that application received?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. Obviously, it is a two-way street. Mr. Sheridan referred to competition and we have heard from other people who appeared before the committee about the need for greater competition in the market. What is the average time it would take to process an application for a new entrant to enter the mortgage market?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Is the Central Bank treating any expression of interest with the urgency that is required in light of the mortgage market we have? It has been reported that there has been an expression of interest in entering the market for well in excess of a year, yet we have not seen anything happen. I appreciate it is a two-way street and we are not privy to the details, but does Mr. Sibley believe the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: How many people in the bank would deal with an application of this nature?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that it cuts across a number of areas but who heads it up in the bank? Is there a clear division? If I am interested in entering the Irish market as a mortgage provider, is there somebody within the Central Bank that would be responsible for my application to see it through from start to fruition? Who is the senior person responsible for that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: If I am correct, Mr. Sibley stated that the Central Bank shared the objectives of the Bill. I would argue that the objectives of the Bill are to secure a reduction in variable rate mortgages. Does the Central Bank share that objective?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I understand what Mr. Sibley is saying. He spoke about the difficulty in respect of repossession, which I will allude to later. Does the Central Bank believe there is currently scope for interest rates to be reduced further by the financial institutions?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: We appreciate and recognise that interest rates are reducing. Someone who takes out a mortgage with a loan to value ratio of 50% will not present a serious problem as the mortgage does not involve risk. Are the variable interest rates being charged for such mortgages excessive or appropriate given the risks at this point? They are much higher than those applied by our competitors in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Even if there is a default on the mortgage for a property where the loan to value ratio is 50%, the bank will not lose anything. How could a bank lose in such a scenario given that it could repossess the property secured on the loan? Unless property prices had declined by in excess of 50%, it would receive the loan back in full.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: That is interesting because Mr. Sibley stated we need to deal with the underlying issues. He has just repeated the point made in this opening statement about the length of time, difficulty or uncertainty associated with dealing with the repossession of the secured property. Is the Central Bank saying we need to make it easier to repossess properties and give the banks more security? Mr....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: All the banks have provisioned for losses in respect of those who are more than two years in arrears. One cannot apply a high variable rate to new or existing customers to try to claw back money that has already been provided for the banks. In fact, the banks are taking some of this money back onto their books because circumstances have changed and improved. As such, the argument made on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I would take issue with Mr. Sibley's assertion that the Central Bank has put in place protections for borrowers. We have been questioning bankers on the tracker mortgage scandal. For four years the Central Bank sat on its hands and showed an absolutely disgraceful attitude on this issue. We now know 9,000 people had their tracker mortgages removed or did not have them reinstated when it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: With respect, I disagree. The joint committee wrote to the Central Bank on foot of a request from the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation asking it to carry out a system wide review. The Central Bank did this around this time last year. Four years prior to that, individuals were taking cases to the Financial Services Ombudsman and their cases were upheld. Cases were taken to the High Court...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I hope in future the Central Bank will not wait five years when customers bring to its attention that they are being fleeced by their banks. That is the point. The bankers would not have owned up to the wrongdoing had the Central Bank not called for an industry-wide review. I appreciate that but the fact that it is being led by the banks themselves is wrong. The Central Bank should be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: There is much more we could say on the issue. It infuriates me that this has happened. I know some people personally who were affected and what they have gone through. Returning to the Bill, as Deputy Michael McGrath said, it has passed Second Stage and there was unanimous support for it. There might have been a bit of reluctance from some of the Government parties but the majority of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Earlier, a question was asked about vulture funds increasing rates to 10% and so on. The question was dealt with by other witnesses. The question need not apply only to a vulture fund; it could be a regulated entity such as AIB or Bank of Ireland. The limited powers the Central Bank has basically amount to no powers in this regard. Mr. Sibley can correct me if I am wrong, but if the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Central Bank of Ireland (8 Dec 2016)

Pearse Doherty: That is a valid point and I imagine the select committee can deal with that on Committee Stage. Mr. Sibley raised the question of unintended consequences. This is my final issue. I do not have the statement before me, but Mr. Sibley has suggested that the banks could raise interest rates in other areas and that they could raise fees and so on. Has the Central Bank received any...