Results 26,601-26,620 of 35,894 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Joint Committee
General Scheme of Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill 2014: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: We could tease that out further but will probably deal with it again on Committee Stage. Issues have been raised relating to the Securitisation Special Purpose Vehicles, SSPVs, in this Bill. When I saw them in the heads of the Bill, I submitted a parliamentary question to the Department. In his response, the Minister drew my attention to a link to the ECBH website because I asked him for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Joint Committee
General Scheme of Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill 2014: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Joint Committee
General Scheme of Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill 2014: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: So, there will be no exemptions in the legislation because every loan will have a servicer or an owner and, therefore, every loan will be regulated and there is no way out of that. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Joint Committee
General Scheme of Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill 2014: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: We have been waiting a long time for this Bill. Will the Department outline the reasons for the delay and the difficulties encountered? I also ask them to outline the discussions they had with the Attorney General's office and the questions that arose in that context. When can we expect publication of the Bill?

Other Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: There is clearly a lack of competition in the banking sector, and a number of banks are bogged down by loss-making tracker mortgages. Despite what some may think, not all tracker loan books are loss-making. I welcome AIB's move to reduce its variable interest rate. In continental Europe the average variable mortgage interest rate is 2.64%, compared to 4.5% here. We must consider what will...

Other Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The former Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Brian Hayes, said it was a disgrace. Either he was playing politics or he genuinely believes it. There are people in Fine Gael - maybe even the Minister, or the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, who is sitting beside him - who believe the variable interest rates are a disgrace and need to be reduced in line with the ECB reductions....

Other Questions: EU-IMF Programme of Support (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 9. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide the main points of discussion he or his officials had with the troika on its most recent visit. [45945/14]

Other Questions: EU-IMF Programme of Support (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister welcomed his old friends the troika back to the capital city in recent weeks. Obviously, the troika is still monitoring us and will do so for some time into the future. Members of the Opposition no longer have the opportunity to engage with the troika during its visits, but it is reported that mortgage debt, housing, water, issues in the wider economy and some of the delayed...

Other Questions: EU-IMF Programme of Support (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Did the troika leave on 21 or 30 November? What discussions did the Minister have with the representatives of the Commission, the IMF and the ECB about water charges? Was the new regime that the Government announced, which is unacceptable to the Irish people, discussed with the troika members? Did they raise any concerns about, for example, the water conservation grant that has nothing to...

Other Questions: EU-IMF Programme of Support (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that the Minister was not in the room, but I expect he was well briefed. We sometimes learn more about these matters from the media than we do in this Chamber. It is suggested that the mortgage crisis is another area that was discussed. Obviously, the Minister has changed his tune on how to deal with those seeking mortgages and restrictions on lending. The Central Bank has...

Other Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 10. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether mortgage holders in this State are paying a fair price for their mortgages in view of the record low levels of ECB interest rates. [45946/14]

Other Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: It is clear that interest rates in this State are out of sync with what they should be. The Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Honohan, suggested that at the finance committee meeting last week, and also that he intends to do nothing about it. The Minister's response is that the Government is at arm's length from this and that it is due to commercial decisions by the banks. It is...

Other Questions: Personal Insolvency Act (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The take-up of the personal insolvency arrangements has been pathetic when measured against the expectations this Government had to deal with the mortgage crisis. The former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, said that approximately 15,000 applications for debt settlement arrangements and personal insolvency arrangements would be applied for each year plus a further 3,000 to...

Other Questions: Personal Insolvency Act (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 7. To ask the Minister for Finance the numbers of times State-backed banks have vetoed proposals in the personal insolvency process in cases in which they were the majority creditor. [45944/14]

Other Questions: Personal Insolvency Act (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: In recent exchanges with the banks at the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform a very stubborn approach to struggling families has been taken, particularly by Bank of Ireland. Its approach has become clear once more. Mr. Boucher of Bank of Ireland has claimed he is not aware of a single case in which his bank wrote down mortgage debt. He has suggested the bank has...

Other Questions: Personal Insolvency Act (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I thank the Minister for giving that information. It is probably an understatement to say the personal insolvency system is clearly not functioning as it was intended to do. Representatives of the Insolvency Service of Ireland are travelling around the State to inform people and try to raise awareness, which is to be welcomed. I am aware that the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 is to be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Liquidation (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 2. To ask the Minister for Finance if junior bondholders who refused to share in Anglo Irish Bank's losses are likely to receive payments as a result of the liquidation process at Irish Bank Resolution Corporation. [46338/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Liquidation (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The liquidation process of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, IBRC, the former Anglo Irish Bank, and Irish Nationwide, is ongoing. It has been reported recently by Joe Brennan in Bloomberg that once more bondholders may get paid around the same time as water bills will drop through the letterboxes of families across this State. Can the Minister reassure us that it is unlikely that junior...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Liquidation (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: We should always remind ourselves that we are talking about €35 billion that was injected into both the former Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, which now form IBRC, which crippled the State. One of the Minister's first actions on taking office in 2011 was to pay over the promissory note of €3.1 billion that was due on 31 March. Then we had the winding down of the bank...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Liquidation (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The question before the Minister is quite simple. I appreciate that we still do not know what amount will remain when the entire IBRC is liquidated. However, that briefing provided to finance spokespersons contained the statement that: "It is not expected that any assets will be available to repay subordinate liability holders". Does the Minister stand over that statement? I take from...