Results 4,961-4,980 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: There is a fundamental difference between nationalising Anglo Irish Bank, which by virtue of its size posed a systemic threat to the banking system and the finances of the State, and fully nationalising a bank such as Bank of Ireland or AIB, with their extensive branch networks. Does any Member of the House believe that were such an institution to be fully nationalised there would not be...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: That is what will happen if we let the banks collapse, yet all the time we hear this rancorous argument that we are not looking after the ordinary people when the primary concern is to get credit flowing in the economy and ensure the banking system survives. All the time we have this rancorous debate even though the governments in the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France, and in...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: If Senators want to believe this country is like Japan and is going to go into further decline and that it is bankrupt, they had better formulate their policies accordingly for the next general election. I do not believe that and I am acting on sound economic advice that tells me the yield from the rental market, for example, here in Dublin is at 8% which is extraordinarily high, the highest...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I know the argument is made that rents are adjusting and going down but even the impact of that rent adjustment is factored into our calculations. We are already allowing for the 16% decline in rents which we have witnessed in the past year and our plans anticipate a further decline in rents. That is factored into the business plan. If at the end of the day Senators cannot believe that the...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I did not dismiss it. The point is that despite the disappointing downgrading by Fitch last week, that particular agency believed that NAMA would be successful in rehabilitating the banking sector.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I do not believe we should be run by rating agencies.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I was about to agree with Senator Norris that the conduct of the rating agencies was reprehensible throughout this crisis. Small countries like Ireland, however, are vulnerable to the activities of these agencies. There is not as big a focus on us as there is on the larger countries. Negative commentary about Ireland can be very dangerous in the hands of rating agencies. For better or...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I will deal with that shortly. It allows the Minister to give definite directions on credit supply and other matters. If an investment vehicle is established, and it will require to be established to comply with European statistical rules, the investment vehicle will require to be integrated with the NAMA group entity and we will be examining in committee the various provisions that ensure...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Not just Senator Buttimer but a number of Senators, including Senator Cannon and Senator Healy Eames, referred to the Madoff case. There is a fundamental distinction between the system in the United States and the practice in all European countries. It is not just in Ireland. It is the case in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and the smaller European countries that criminal...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: There is a conflict of interest in being entrusted with this and holding the Minister to account in debates in Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. An inevitable conflict of interest would arise in that regard.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: In regard to the ban on lobbying the agency being amended to allow Deputies and Senators make representations, I assume they can make representations to the Minister in any event. I am anxious to ensure that a protocol on parliamentary questions is agreed with the agency to ensure that prompt, comprehensive replies are given to all questions. Senator Quinn raised the question of how values...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is an objective of NAMA in the sense that it provides the balance sheet with a condition that allows them to raise and advance funds to customers.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Senator Fitzgerald made the case for the various critics and also the Fine Gael alternative banking strategy. It would be good to be able to establish a new bank but we should not be deluded into thinking that just by establishing a new bank we would have a sudden explosion of credit in the economy. If anyone showed an interest in establishing a bank in Ireland at present, I would certainly...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The point is we are not doing that with the developers. Despite constant misrepresentation on this front, in fairness not in this House, we are not doing that with the developers. The banks are in a different position altogether.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The banks are the persons who advanced the loans, not the persons who own the loans. The person who owes the money is the developer, the builder or the borrower, and he or she is being held to account for his or her full liabilities. I do not accept that the homeowner can be administered by NAMA, which has a commercial mandate and which is there to make money for the taxpayer, and that the-----

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: We have alternatives and we are exploring them because a solution must be found.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I do not deny the good faith of the Opposition in putting forward this idea. The Labour Party put forward a different idea in the other House where there would be a 24-month ban on repossessions. As part of the recapitalisation, we agreed a 12-month ban on repossessions in Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland, and Senator Norris will be disappointed to hear a deluge of rating agencies...

Seanad: Defence Forces Equipment (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senator Norris for raising this matter this evening. It gives me the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, to outline the position to the House. The Minister has asked me to apologise to the House for his unavailability to address it. The position concerning the acquisition of defensive equipment for the Defence Forces is that, in the main, such equipment...

Seanad: Defence Forces Equipment (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The principles of transparency, non-discrimination and equality of treatment are applied to the widest possible extent to companies interested in supplying such equipment to the Defence Forces. Tender competitions are held by the contracts branch in the Department for the acquisition of a wide range of defensive equipment covering standard ammunition, weapons, armoured personnel carriers,...

Seanad: Health Services (9 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney. The HSE's national cancer control programme was established in 2007 to implement the strategy for cancer control in Ireland. The goals of the programme are better cancer prevention, detection and survival through a national service based on evidence and best practice for all cancers. This...