Results 5,161-5,180 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

National Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Yes, but there is nothing under the amendment to stop the Comptroller and Auditor General becoming that person for company law purposes, as well as the public audit he is required to do under the legislation. That is a very detailed matter that does not require to be specified in legislation at this stage.

National Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: That was a different amendment.

National Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: That is a fair point but the Comptroller and Auditor General already has that power and it may well be that this is one of the appropriate contexts in which to exercise it.

National Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Yes. This is a matter that can be constructed but the preliminary advice is that it is satisfied with the general thrust of what we are doing. I cannot predict the outcome of discussions with EUROSTAT to finalise all of the details of this, as Deputy O'Donnell would appreciate.

National Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: A great deal of it has been finalised but I would like to deal with the question of the shareholding agreement that both Deputy Rabbitte and Deputy O'Donnell raised. As Deputy O'Donnell rightly said, everything depends on the terms of the shareholders' agreement but shareholders' agreements are very common. He gave the private analogy but there are many shareholding agreements where the...

National Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Not all of the details of the agreement can be submitted on execution to the parliamentary committee but its principle terms can be.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Governor of the Central Bank is not responsible to the Minister.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Financial Regulator is not accountable to the Minister.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I will explain in a moment.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: An important one, Deputy.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: My time has come to speak. There has been an extensive argument about the systemic character of Anglo Irish Bank. While I am not certain that arises in the context of this amendment the debate has partaken of a Second Stage debate. I want to reiterate yet again that Anglo Irish Bank was a systemic bank at the time of the bank guarantee scheme and its nationalisation because it was a bank...

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The reputational damage to Ireland was done long before the night of the guarantee.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The big risk the night of the guarantee was that if we did not guarantee this with the other institutions, we might well have set in train a systemic collapse of all of the institutions. That was something we had to take into account also. I am only dealing with that issue as an aside. The core issue this afternoon is the question of the committee and what powers it should have.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I will examine that document and comment on it on another occasion.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: My answer would be that documents must be considered in their context.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Government is there to make decisions. Deputies Flanagan and Higgins asked why the committee was not part of the legislation. We dealt with this issue at length on Committee Stage. Most sides of the House would accept that there is an excessive number of committees. Entrenching the existence of a committee in legislation is not a desirable way to go at a time when we are talking...

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: What I am prepared to say is that in the normal practice the Minister must oversee the activities of the agency and report to the Oireachtas on these activities. I do not accept there is any reason to depart from this practice in this case. I agree with Deputy Mulcahy that Oireachtas scrutiny is desirable. However, Oireachtas oversight would interfere not so much with the Minister, but...

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Apply to me. I will consult with the Opposition leaders-----

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Department of Finance works with me and helps me in my work. It is essential that it does that, because I would not be able to do all the work on this matter alone. I am inviting expressions of interest from suitably qualified persons for appointment to the board of NAMA. I hope it is not suggested the Department will conceal some of these individuals from me. I believe this is the...

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed). (4 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: However, I accept that an Oireachtas committee would be of considerable assistance in scrutinising the operations of NAMA, within existing parliamentary rules and procedures.