Results 41-60 of 332 for speaker:Shay Brennan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: EU Legislative Proposals: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: Clearly, Ms Ní Bhriain is coming at this from a pacifist perspective. I am coming at this from an EU financial instrument perspective. The countries availing of these loans - Poland and several others Ms Ní Bhriain mentioned - will, regardless of events, pacifist ideology or otherwise, invest in this weaponry, like it or not, as will many of the countries, particularly on Europe's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: EU Legislative Proposals: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: I agree with that, except-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: EU Legislative Proposals: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: Of course, but I will just answer that particular point. The legality, at least temporarily, has been set aside because the instrument is in motion. That is what I mean by setting aside the legalities. It seems to be happening anyway but a discussion does need to happen around the legalities of it as to whether it can proceed. The final point-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: EU Legislative Proposals: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: Fifteen seconds.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: EU Legislative Proposals: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: When I talk about Ireland potentially being left with a portion of Poland's bill, that is what I mean by investing in the deterrent. We are investing in strengthening Europe's eastern border to protect ourselves.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: EU Legislative Proposals: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: My questions are primarily for Ms Ní Bhriain. I thank her for her opening statement and I also thank Ms Kinney. In reference to Ireland's neutrality, Ms Ní Bhriain said we did not start wars or participate in them. I am conscious that this is the finance committee and I do not want to get too caught up in neutrality and the triple lock. I appreciate it is worthy of further...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Engagement with UNRWA Deputy Director John Whyte (23 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: I thank Mr. Whyte for joining us but also for the work his agency does and his determined contribution to that. I want to use my five or six minutes to focus on one area, the funding aspect. In some of the documents provided, Mr. Whyte referred to a funding gap. What is that funding gap for 2025 as it applies to both core and emergency programmes? What key services provided by UNWRA are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Engagement with UNRWA Deputy Director John Whyte (23 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: I will stay with the funding theme I opened with. I assume the actual spending of UNRWA in the region is split between staff costs, which I imagine are the bulk of the spend, and purchasing supplies, food, medicine, etc. If there is a stockpile building - Mr. Whyte mentioned that up to three month's worth has built up at the border - I assume some of this is perishable or maybe not. Is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: 9. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will report on plans for a properly resourced office of veterans' affairs. [48992/25]

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (18 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: 42. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the measures he is taking regarding the further development of the Reserve Defence Force. [48993/25]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: I found the name of that agency; it is the Office to Promote Competition in the Insurance Market. It should have been on the tip of my tongue. Does the alliance appreciate that despite calling for additional resources for that body, it cannot do anything to affect the size of the Irish market? If market size is the key problem here, we might need to look at other potential solutions, for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: This is a problem across the financial services industry in general. There is a lack of competition in the banking sector as well. Measures will have to be taken in order to address that. Would the alliance see insurance rolling up in that? Does it believe there is potentially a broader solution in the financial services sector, or would it prefer to push for a single insurance solution?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: Mr. Jennings will find that part of the reason we are having this committee hearing today is to attempt to join our witnesses in that fightback. We are seeking to find out where the problems actually are and what we need to deal with them. That takes me to my next point. Mr. Jennings touched on the lack of willingness from the insurance companies to engage. It seems to me, as I look at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: I apologise for interrupting. This is exactly what I am trying to get at here. The simple solution from the outside would be to halve the profits, halve the premiums and all get on with this. Is there something in their books, such as the reinsurance or investment problems, that means they cannot do that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: As Deputy Timmins was saying, I do not think we should shy away from that collaboration question. I know we do not have privilege or-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: I will move on to questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: That is fair enough. There are two things in relation to the alliance itself. The alliance is a major body, with close to 1 million members from the statistics given by the witnesses earlier. It seems to me that there is scope for the alliance to do certain things as well. One would be something along the lines of communication regarding the IRB and the need to try to avoid the courts,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: I thank Mr. Hanley and Mr. Jennings. I have a series of questions here covering a couple of areas. I will just try to maybe stick to one area and, when I come back in, I will move on to the next area. The witnesses are pointing to a lack of competition as a problem here. I fully agree with them. If there was more competition, it certainly seems to be something that could help unlock...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: I understand that but there are not many explanations that make all of this tally. If we cannot go into it then so be it. Ireland is a small market and people know each other. Nothing has been proven so-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Insurance Matters: Engagement with the Alliance for Insurance Reform (17 Sep 2025)

Shay Brennan: When you have one underwriter, they are a monopoly, essentially. Is there any evidence that additional super-normal profits are being made in that area where there is only one underwriter, above and beyond the industry in general?