Results 3,141-3,160 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Fiscal Assessment Report: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: I welcome the witnesses to the committee meeting. I note their criticism of the budget, which is unfair and unwarranted. That is my opinion. Some commentators in Europe have raised the question of whether the continued hikes in interest rates, which have, thankfully, slowed down, possibly contributed to inflation. Although the purpose of the exercise was to slow inflation, it is...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Fiscal Assessment Report: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: Nevertheless, would Professor McMahon consider that, at a time of cost-of-living increases, the public might be suffering from some cost fatigue and that it might be necessary to alleviate the burden on them in some way to ensure good governance would be seen to be available. I do not accept the notion that it was gimmickry. Sometimes those in charge have to make decisions that are...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Fiscal Assessment Report: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: It is because it does not have a carryover. There is no commitment for future years. Something else might need an intervention and support in future years.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Fiscal Assessment Report: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: Would Professor McMahon not agree that there are issues arising from cost-of-living increases that needed intervention and support and got it in the past year? If it had not happened that way, there would have been more serious cost-of-living increases and more serious hardship across the board.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Fiscal Assessment Report: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: Well, if it was, it is easy to condemn it as gimmickry but I would reject that. These targeted measures, which Professor McMahon says were non-targeted, were targeted in the sense that they were targeted at a particular need at the time. Professor McMahon said some people had a greater need. I would say, and I think the Minister would say, that all of our society had a need and it might...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Ceremonies (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: 161. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the general timeframe within which successful applicants for citizenship/naturalisation receive their certificates after their respective citizenship ceremonies; if all efforts are being made to ensure that new citizens receive their documentation as soon as possible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55503/23]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Family Reunification (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: 162. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress to date in progressing an application for family reunification in the case of the family of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55515/23]

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Fiscal Assessment Report: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: Would Professor McMahon agree that the windfall capital spending he referred to is an intervention by the Government to tweak the economy in a particular direction at a given time, having regard to the economic factors, the projections and the issues prevailing and obvious to it and its advisers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: I wish to ask Mr. Honohan about one or two things he said. Regarding the transposition into Irish law of the directive back in 1993, that would have come before the committee dealing with European affairs and would have been subject to a fair amount of scrutiny. There were several lawyers on the committee at that time, including senior counsel, and it would have been scrutinised. There was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: Is Mr. Honohan saying this was not sufficient?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: In fairness, I should mention that I was the Chair of the committee up to the end of 1992.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: No disrespect to anybody, but all legislation was subject to a fairly rigorous test. Before anybody signed off on it, there had to be a declaration by the experts appointed to assess the degree to which it impacted Irish law, people's rights and so forth. Not until that was done could the legislation be signed off on. To be fair to the members of that committee, they did their job and went...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: Mr. Honohan discussed it with me as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: Mr. Honohan left nobody out. However, to turn to the next question, we have a situation whereby the Central Bank was saying these incoming finance companies, vulture funds or whatever were not subject to the Central Bank rules and that they would be sooner or later and so on and so forth. Initially, the Central Bank was saying it had no control over them. At times over the past year,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: At this stage, the Central Bank is watching the procedures and how they are operating. I agree that some of the things happened have been all wrong and have put borrowers in a very vulnerable position for many reasons. First, nobody ever knew if the first lender sold on an impaired loan or at what price it was sold at. I understand all the reasons for not disclosing that information....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: I am. Hair colour is not the only thing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: Generally, there is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Credit Servicers Directive: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Bernard Durkan: I have a document that shows the deeds of my house. There used to be the Land Registry. Another agency has some kind of joint function at the moment. What is happening in the market or in repossession cases is that lenders are relying on old-fashioned legislation to be able to go into court and say they have tolerated this long enough, lost X amount of money and it is imperative that they...