Results 32,461-32,480 of 32,983 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Would it not then make sense to have a review period that is shorter than five years? I may be missing something and perhaps the Minister will indicate if that is the case. It may be the case that by 2012 we will discover that there is a case for winding up NAMA. However, this is extremely unlikely. In such circumstances, therefore, after 2012 should we not review its activities more...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I was involved in drafting a development plan for Dublin when I was on Dublin City Council and became quite familiar with all the definitions of land use. One of the main definitions was institutional land. Within the Dublin City Council area there is a great deal of land so classed. This, however, is not mentioned in any of the Minister's definitions of land, particularly the...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Minister is aware the discussion was about a different kind of institution. I wanted to understand why it was not referred to here.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 2: In page 16, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "2.—(1) There shall be established a "Register of Derivatives" on the commencement of this Act, which shall include information on derivatives obtained under this Act and shall be detailed in the annual accounts of NAMA. (2) Information to be recorded under subsection 1 shall include, but is not limited...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for that clarification. I raised this point in earlier debates and that information was not made available to me.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I did not raise it with the Minister. It is an important clarification. To repeat what the Minister said, this information, with the exception of my suggestion for the counterparty, will be published as part of the annual accounts NAMA will furnish.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment. I support what Senator Twomey said in regard to the amendment. One of the points made in the discussion on Committee Stage was that while everybody here is emphasising that the NAMA institution must take all steps possible to ensure this does not happen again, this amendment proposes that it be put on a statutory footing as part of the purpose of the organisation....

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: If Senator O'Toole is correct that the NAMA model is wrong, we must take account of where we stand. We are having this debate in the context of a €54 billion investment in the banks' balance sheets and a State guarantee potentially worth €410 billion. We are beginning to accept there is no ability to direct the banks to put credit into the economy, which is after all the main objective...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I did more than dabble.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. I also welcome the amendment for all the reasons outlined by colleagues. We previously engaged in a debate on trying to amend the objectives and purposes of NAMA to include the provision of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises as one such objective. The Government did not accept the proposal that emanated from this side of the...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: My point relates to the amendment. Section 130 states: A participating institution that fails to comply with any obligation under this Act is liable to NAMA and any NAMA group entity concerned in damages in addition to any other consequence of the failure under this Act. The section provides clear guidance with regard to what will be the relationship between NAMA and participating...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I must respond to one of the points made by the Minister and believe I have noted it correctly. He has said that in Ireland the role of Ministers is to make decisions, make appointments and be accountable for them. Is he joking? Look at the track record in setting up such organisations. The modus operandi of the Government is that when there is a big challenge before it or a big job that...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Senator Bacik spoke about the difficulties involved when a bank influences the work culture of an organisation. This highlighted to me the practical difficulty of nationalising our banking system or chunks of it. The idea that an elected Government would get involved in determining the work culture of an organisation that has been nationalised is just a step too far. We have enough on our...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I wonder why.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Very new Labour.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to make two brief points. In regard to Government Senators and the need to make use of the current committee system, the Labour and Fine Gael amendments make it clear the powers of the proposed committee or sub-committee would be different to that of the existing committee structure. These proposals seek to confer upon a new committee a set of powers that existing committees do not...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: While it exists, we are of it.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not so sure of that.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I have three questions for the Leader. The first picks up on a point that Senator Buttimer made about the statement by the Irish Banking Federation. I acknowledge the statement, but I certainly do not welcome it. Let us be very clear what the people whom this organisation represents have got from the Irish taxpayer. They have got a €54 billion injection into their balance sheets, as we...