Results 34,381-34,400 of 36,118 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Is the Minister of State referring to the Labour Party? The Fine Gael Party definitely knows where it stands but where does the Labour Party stand?

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: To help to process the legislation more efficiently, will the Minister confirm that he is in a position to accept amendments to the Bill? It is my understanding amendments cannot be tabled because they will not be accepted. Is that the case?

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: It is probably a unique experience, as Irish legislators, dealing with legislation we cannot amend. While we are having a debate on Committee and Report Stages, it is just for the purposes of going through the motions. I will not delay proceedings, but I would like to ask a question about section 1, to which the Minister referred. It states the European Stability Facility Act 2010 is being...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: The argument is being presented to us that increasing the guarantee by €5 billion is merely a cosmetic exercise because this is a stepping out country. We have stepped out since 3 December 2010. Could there be a time when Ireland could be called upon to guarantee the €12.5 billion figure in the Bill? The Minister has already spoken about Ireland coming out of the programme and there is...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: I will speak to the section rather than ask a supplementary question. I do not wish to digress and discuss Anglo Irish Bank bonds. Deputy Donnelly is absolutely correct in his point about burden sharing with bondholders at Anglo Irish Bank. Nobody really swallows figures such as the €100 million mentioned, but that is not what we are dealing with. The Minister knows that my party will be...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: I am not getting a direct answer to my question. The Minister keeps talking about the ESM which has been agreed to in the European Union but does not exist in Irish law. Many things have been agreed to in the European Union but have changed in subsequent months. There is no guarantee that the ESM will come into law across all EU Parliaments. I am asking the Minister whether a change in...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Schedule 1 is where we get to the nitty-gritty. We are opposing the Bill and this Schedule. I will not delay the House, but I have a number of points to make. The text on page 10 of the Bill, from lines 11 to 25, deals with the extension of maturities of EFSF loans. It states: "We have decided to lengthen the maturity of future EFSF loans to Greece to the maximum extent possible from the...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate what the Minister has said so far. The quote comes from the Heads of State in the euro area, but I do not understand why it is included in this legislation. In dealing with legislation we know how important a word is, but this does not give us scope to have loans from the EFSF for less than 15 years. Under the EFSF, we have been able to avail of loans for less than 7.5 years...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: That was only my first point about the Schedule. In fairness, as this legislation is about keeping money back, we will have a short while in which to go through this sham. Page 12 deals with the service fee and I seek the Minister's explanation. It reads in regard to the service fee in respect of EFSF loans: This shall provide remuneration for the Guarantors and shall be specified in the...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: I understand that and agree with the idea of providing money at cost. Obviously, the EFSF should not lose out as a result of. However, if one looks at the line written above which is to change, it reads: "the third sentence shall be deleted and replaced by the following sentence:"The pricing which will apply to each Loan is intended to cover the cost of funding" [which is fair enough] "and...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: There are no limits on the margin.

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: That is fair enough.

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: I have one final point, to which the Minister referred at the conclusion of his Second Stage speech. For the record, I am not naive and know this is not the legislation under which the ESM will be introduced. It will be provided for later. However, we cannot get away from the fact that by passing this legislation we are referring to the ESM for the first time. It is mentioned not once or...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: They are putting that money into the pockets of those in the banks.

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Has the Minister ever come across loan sharks? Those individuals lend one money, but they take one's blood in return.

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: That was not what the Fine Gael manifesto stated.

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister should have clarified that he did not support the Fine Gael manifesto which stated it might be forced to act unilaterally.

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Italy and Spain were going in that direction beforehand.

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister argued for it last week.

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Pearse Doherty: I know, but the Minister is arguing-----