Results 34,561-34,580 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: I know that. I refer to a potential roll-over.

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: The point is that Members are aware that various institutions, namely, Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide in particular, as well as all the other covered institutions, have maturity dates on certain types of debt that will expire after a period and they will renew or roll over that debt. I assume the Minister intends to extend the guarantee to some of it on its renewal.

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: The basic purpose of a deposit guarantee scheme is to prevent a run on a bank. The most pertinent example in Ireland's case was that of the British Government stepping in to protect Northern Rock. Based on the provisions of the Bill, responsibility for preventing a run on a bank now resides with the Central Bank of Ireland, which is given the role of advising the Minister for Finance. What...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: When it comes to the private affairs of banks, we have a culture of total secrecy. However, this culture of absolute secrecy in our banks, where there is no requirement for freedom of information, allowed individuals in banks, particularly in Anglo Irish Bank, to behave like those in The Bonfire of the Vanities. They had complete licence to do whatever they wanted and to maintain right up...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: It is difficult because it is a short Bill and some of this is dealt with later on. However, the role and approach of the Central Bank of Ireland are critical.

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: I referred earlier in the debate to section 4(4) which basically gives the Minister the right to vary the amount. In a uniform credit deposit protection scheme a good bank, which is well regulated and well run, ends up reserving exactly the same amount as a bank which is indulging in risky behaviour. Can the Minister clarify what his approach to that will be? The Anglo-Irish Bank model was...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: Similarly, Irish Nationwide was the other example of a building society which was behaving in an incredibly risky business manner. All the institutions which are covered by this deposit guarantee scheme will face the same requirements concerning the scheme. Surely, however, it would make sense that if a bank is engaging in a risky or bad business model, it should be more penalised than a...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: This is a deposit guarantee scheme. For the foreseeable future in the Irish economy, many people will have a very high propensity to save, due to their personal finances, jobs and so on. Interest rates are on the floor at the moment, so the ordinary depositor will want safety and will also look for rates of return. By and large, the people offering greater rates of return in Ireland in...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: I agree. If the Minister has the power to be advised by the Central Bank and we will move into a new regime where we will all be more sensible about our financial affairs, what does he say to the ordinary saver who is receiving a redundancy lump sum, retirement lump sum and so on? These sums are individually small, but they constitute an enormous and important reserve for the Irish banking...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: Hence my reference to Iceland, the most extreme example.

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: Credit unions operate the savings protection scheme. The Minister said that they have some €13 billion in deposits at various credit unions. He suggested he might exempt some credit unions, on a selected basis and perhaps only smaller ones, from the requirements of this. Can the Minister clarify that this is what he said? Is the savings protection scheme of the Irish League of Credit...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: The €25,400 figure as applied from the 0.2% rate would suggest a total deposits figure of €12.7 million.

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: The issue is with small credit unions.

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: The Minister will publish a separate schedule of regulations dealing with credit unions.

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: What is the Minister's timeframe for bringing the credit unions into this structure?

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: In the case of a run on a bank in which it became necessary to use the fund to protect one institution, if that institution subsequently collapsed would the other institutions have to meet the deficit in the fund or will the Government step in with other mechanisms to limit runs on banks?

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: I have a general question which may arise later in the sections. Under this Bill the responsibility for the guarantee scheme reverts to the Central Bank rather than to the Financial Regulator. Is that part of the proposed new architecture on regulation where the Central Bank is to be the main authority? We have had no discussion in this House on the architecture of regulation, although the...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: The Bill contains extensive references to the Central Bank and the Financial Services Authority of Ireland, two of the institutions the Labour Party proposes should be subject to freedom of information legislation. This country is guaranteeing debt to an unbelievable extent, at least €440 billion, with the guarantee of last September. We do not yet have a complete analysis of the...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: I want to make this point briefly. It is extraordinary that the biggest financial deal ever entered into by an Irish Government, on the back of the taxpayer, for unknown quantities of money should be entirely exempt from the right of those of us in this House or under freedom of information legislation to obtain information. This is in direct contrast to what happens in the US, where the...

Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Bill 2009 - Committee Stage (17 Jun 2009)

Joan Burton: If we are discussing section 1, I would like to make a contribution on the section after Deputy Rabbitte.