Results 601-620 of 1,974 for speaker:Arthur Spring

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (11 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Say that again.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: I agree with Deputy Michael McGrath. One is looking at, say, a 15 % return on €250,000 which would not really sustain a business. It might sound like much money in marginal terms but it is actually not an awful lot. For a small independent betting shop with no significant online base, accepting such bets is usually with individual customers who they know will not be overexposed. I...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: These are small independent bookmakers who would not have significant turnovers. The cost of a remote licence would be onerous on them.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Does Deputy Doherty agree with the extension of the opening times, however?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: I would like to refer to an issue I have raised in the House over the last couple of months. I have a problem with credit cards being the modus operandiupon which licences are awarded. I do not know of any bookmaker at any race track who plugs in a credit card apparatus to take one's details. I believe that if one wishes to place a bet, one should have the money on one, or one should have...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: I would like to point out that the debit cards I am talking about do not necessarily have to be laser cards. Some debit cards are associated with Visa and MasterCard, etc. In those cases, people cannot end up with the details in the way suggested by the Department.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: The use of such cards gives one the data protection one might be looking for. The suggestion I have made would prevent many cases of addiction and abuse of the gambling system. It might encourage people to go back to the betting shops and engage in the social activity that gambling is supposed to be. The keyboard warriors might be less likely to lose the run of themselves if they are in a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Deputy Pearse Doherty alluded to the fact that the commercial sector would not see all of its money, but will individuals see all of their money and will the exposure lean heavily towards the commercial companies?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: I understand that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: It seems to be unregulated.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Does Mr. Casey know at this point in time?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Given there are 75,000 policies overall, what quantum of money would Mr. Casey expect to see as a reserve? An awful lot of the policies that were bought were cash injections which did not run the full course of the policy and were not put into the overall exposure. Therefore, a large percentage of these would be in an asset form. Of the 70,000 to 75,000 policies, what kind of assets would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: That is what I am asking. Has the Central Bank got access to that information?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: I understand. The alarm bell that went off in Mr. Kincaid's office was due to the fact some of the files picked up that the amount allocated for dealing with those cases was low. That does not talk about the provisions, it talks about the execution, and that could bleed into the overall profitability of the company being higher. That would not suggest to me there is a problem with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: There are two issues. First, are the people who took out insurance with Setanta going to get their money back and are people going to be looked after in accordance with what one would expect in a developed democracy? Second, what are we doing to prevent this from happening again in the insurance industry in Ireland? I do not believe anybody who hears about this meeting will get a sense of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Are they the directors of that company?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Two are Maltese and one is Irish?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: This is a catastrophe for the policyholders. Has the Central Bank done anything to pursue these directors either in Ireland or in Malta for breach of their fiduciary duties and possible reckless trading?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Given the fact it was trading here, if it was found to have been engaging in reckless trading, I would urge the Central Bank to do something to ensure there are implications and not to let people off. Everybody who takes out insurance looks for the best deal. As the Chairman said earlier, we do not go through the specifics; we look at the bottom line price and make sure the basics are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Collapse of Setanta Insurance: Central Bank and Department of Finance (9 Jul 2014)

Arthur Spring: Yes. I do not blame the Central Bank for this and it is working within the parameters it has. However, someone is to blame for it and the policyholders want to know who that is. The most urgent point is to ensure they get as much money back as possible. What needs to be done to stop this happening again and what is being done?