Results 23,061-23,080 of 26,986 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: If I may return to the issue of the semi-state enterprises and the question of commercial sensitivity, unlike the Minister, I do not have a problem with State enterprises suffering a disadvantage because I happen to believe that open, transparent enterprise will actually triumph and beat secret, clandestine, privately owned enterprises. That is the difference between the Minister and me....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Given the current state of private enterprise, I would not be so smug as to laugh about that point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Most State enterprises are still standing while many of the private ones have collapsed. Therefore, I would not be so smug. Let us not laugh.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The Minister is broadcasting now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: My point to the Minister is that the rule should be that nobody is exempted. The rule should be that the information is given. The burden should be shifted in favour of the citizen and away from exemptions and the whole series of categories of exemptions, whether for semi-state agencies or categories under which other bodies can block the citizen. The entity, whatever it is, should have to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I welcome the fact that we are discussing the heads of a Bill to extend freedom of information legislation to areas where it did not apply before this. That is a positive development. We must, however, take open, transparent and accountable government as far as we possibly can. We have an appalling history of secrecy and cover-up which has had devastating effects on our society. That...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: So have we.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: With respect, is there a rule book which we can look at?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I thank the officials for taking us through the emerging labyrinthine architecture of the new banking union. I need an idiots guide to understand it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I appreciate that it is quite complicated and there seems to be a problem in co-ordinating the different elements of the European Union's architecture between the ECB, the Parliament, the Commission and so on, and perhaps that explains its complexity. In order to understand it, may I ask the following questions? Is it basically the case that the Parliament writes the rule book, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The eurozone states look after the implementation of the rule book on a day-to-day basis. Do they ensure the banks are operating to the rules?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Will we have one representative on this board?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Is the supervisory board supposed to be very separate in its operations?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Is it correct that the supervisor will be accountable to us? If we want to ask questions about what is going on, do we quiz our delegate or representative on the single supervisory mechanism, SSM; board?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I thank Mr. Carrigan for helping us get the structure clear in our heads. To what extent is the rule book written? Will it be possible for us to see the rule book which will then be applied by the supervisory mechanism? Will the rule book be in a fairly clearly understandable form? We are talking in terms of architecture and engineering of the supervisory structure, but then of course...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It will supervise their implementation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Role and Contribution of Public Interest Directors in Financial Institutions: Discussion (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is weak, Dr. Somers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Role and Contribution of Public Interest Directors in Financial Institutions: Discussion (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: One individual can invalidate the whole proposal?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Role and Contribution of Public Interest Directors in Financial Institutions: Discussion (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am not talking about apartment blocks. My question was very specific. Will Mr. Spring answer it? In the period 2000 to 2007, before the collapse of the property bubble, people borrowed to put a roof over their head. What is the moral hazard of writing down their mortgages to current market values? I can see nothing morally hazardous about doing that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Role and Contribution of Public Interest Directors in Financial Institutions: Discussion (20 Dec 2012)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Do the witnesses know how much it would cost to do? Perhaps the witnesses would be able to provide that information. TSB said it would look into it and provide the joint committee with the information.