Results 2,421-2,440 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: — welcoming the preliminary reports 'The Irish Banking Crisis - Regulatory and Financial Stability Policy 2003 – 2008' by the Governor of the Central Bank, and 'A Preliminary Report on The Sources of Ireland's Banking Crisis' by Messrs Klaus Regling and Max Watson, which were laid before both...

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Fine Gael tabled a private Member's motion on the draft terms of reference of the commission of inquiry before its members had an opportunity to hear from the authors of the two reports and before the committee dealing with the matter had an opportunity to consider the terms of reference. The Government made it clear in its decision on these reports that it welcomes the views of the Joint...

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: There is no question of a political attempt to exclude matters from the terms of reference or to make them less comprehensive than they should be. The terms of reference mirror the concerns of the reports and have been carefully refined by the Attorney General and the Government. This motion was tabled before Fine Gael listened to the authors of the reports, who have clarified a great deal...

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Let us not hear any more about transformational change from Deputy Bruton and let us hear no more about political cultural change. Political cultural change is not happening in the main Opposition party in respect of the handling of this issue. Last Friday, at the meeting attended by Herr Regling and Mr. Watson, Deputy Bruton pushed very hard to have these experts join a witch-hunt against...

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The authors did not say this should have taken place in the Government; they refer to the supervisory structures. They say bank supervision in Ireland was weak and the response of supervisors to the build-up of risks was not sufficiently hands-on or pre-emptive and was in some cases too mild to make a major impact on the risks.. There was a failure of checks and balances within the banks....

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Nobody can be happy with what happened here. Opposition parties did not identify these problems. I do not often make that point because I accept Governments must take responsibility for what happened. As far as the Opposition is concerned, the proposals formulated in the last general election would have exacerbated the problem substantially. I refer especially to the proposals on stamp duty.

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Let us not revisit those matters; let us consider the matters for further investigation. It is important to keep in mind that these reports are preliminary scoping reports that are intended to point the way to more detailed examination of specific issues by a statutory commission of investigation. It is important to state that the authors have all stated where the problems arose and that...

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: That is reflected in the report and what the authors of the report advised the committee. Professor Honohan seems to suggest there should be no further reports.

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: He came close to saying that but the Government does not agree with the Governor in this respect. The Government believes there should be a commission of inquiry. The Governor did not make the case for the kind of investigation Fine Gael is calling for, and neither did Herr Regling and Mr. Watson. There is a reservation that must be entered and Herr Regling and Mr. Watson are careful to...

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It was to the supervisory system. We shall come to macro advice in a moment. We are now at matters that can be subject to legally verifiable examination. Macro-economic policy is not one of those areas.

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is not, according to any of the authors of any of these reports. It is a matter we can argue about in this House and we can set up a procedure to devise how we want to test it but it is not a matter that can be investigated in a commission of inquiry. That is very clear from these reports. What their authors suggest is that we should have terms of reference to look at the banking...

Banking Reports: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I doubt it is a point of order but I am in the Acting Chairman's hands.

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I was interested to hear Deputy English refer to the former US President, Herbert Hoover, who is mentioned by other speakers in this House from time to time. It is worthwhile to note that his core, central decision after the great Wall Street collapse of 1929 was to let the United States banks collapse, which is what Fine Gael has advocated in recent years, and to default on the repayment of...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As a result of his decision to let the banks collapse during the Great Depression, by 1933 the US unemployment rate amounted to 33% of the total adult population. We decided not to do that, in the teeth of fairly heavy opposition from Fine Gael.

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: A kind of economic literacy needs to be developed in this country. Glib references to Herbert Hoover should be discontinued because they do not address the core issues facing this country here and now.

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I wish to refer to the ultimate test of any Government. It is a pity this debate is taking place in a particular context. I refer to the internal convulsions in the main Opposition party and the publication of an important report that throws light on an important period in our national history. It is disappointing that this debate is taking place in that context because it will not get the...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The ultimate test of any Government, in the context of the type of economic crisis we have had to deal with, is its ability to take decisive and courageous action, react rapidly in changing times, hold its nerve in the face of enormous domestic and international pressures and say "No" to sectional interests.

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Such a Government should have a determination to make difficult and unpopular but fair decisions in the teeth of opposition, should be able to communicate successfully the need for such decisions and should have the ability to lead citizens towards the common good. By any reckoning, this Government, led by the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, has passed those tests in response to the worst economic...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: More especially, it has passed those tests by the reckoning of two men who, in the last week, have won the respect of all the Members of this House. Two days after the Leader of the Opposition tabled a motion of no confidence in the Government, Mr. Klaus Regling told an Oireachtas committee that "both of us have the view that crisis management here has been very good, particularly compared...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Deputies might not like the massage, but they should have the courtesy to listen to it.