Results 6,741-6,760 of 6,944 for speaker:Michael McNamara

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (8 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: I disagree with Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív and commend the Minister for his approach. We tabled amendments to allow them to be considered by the Minister and his Department and I am glad that he has come back following detailed consideration to tell us where he stands-----

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (8 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: All I was seeking to do was to thank the Minister for his inclusive approach and having considered the amendments before he came to the House, which is not always the case with Ministers. I agree with the Minister that not every authorised officer carrying out inspections should be a veterinarian. That would be a huge waste of money. The great majority of farmyard visits could be carried...

Topical Issue Debate: Household Charge (6 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: Notwithstanding that only 16,500 households have not paid the charge, 33,000 letters issued last week at a cost to Clare County Council of €15,000, including letters to many who had paid and letters to people who are deceased and long deceased in many instances. People are rightly aggrieved at the manner in which the charge is being administered.

Topical Issue Debate: Household Charge (6 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: I do not disagree with anything the Minister has said but it is more than an irritation to receive those letters: for some it is a source of worry. My parents received such a letter and were very worried that they had a tax liability. I know several people who are upset because they received letters in respect of people who had died. There is a register of births, marriages and deaths in...

Topical Issue Debate: Household Charge (6 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Perhaps he will tell me when I have reached my two minute limit. It will not come as news to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, that the household charge is necessary and nor will it come as news to him that the household charge is not universally popular. In respect of the latter, I do not suppose the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: In respect of the State shareholding and the necessity for the State to invest in Bank of Ireland to ensure its survival like all the other banks at that time in 2008, since then the State has sought to obtain the former Irish Parliament building in Dublin as a cultural centre. My understanding is that Bank of Ireland has been wholly unco-operative in that regard. Does Mr. Boucher not think...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: Mr. Boucher mentioned repayment in cash. Does it ever occur to banks that sometimes goodwill is as important as cash to customers and the State?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: This commercial business came a cropper in 2008.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: Mr. McLoughlin outlined the relatively good news that the bank was going to keep its branch network, given the importance it attaches to same. He also stated the bank's customer analysis pointed to how important it was for customers to be able to engage with the bank face to face. In the past 12 months, however, the bank has removed a link between branches and customers. When one...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: From whom was the feedback?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: They prefer to telephone a call centre?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: I am a Bank of Ireland customer in Scariff. A number of branches are involved. When I telephoned a call centre, I was refused a telephone number for the bank in Scariff.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: I am not saying this for myself. I am sure I am not unique in this regard. Ordinary people in Miltown Malbay, Scariff and elsewhere do not have the opportunity to speak to Mr. McNamara or to address these concerns. They must face bank staff who in many instances are just as frustrated by these practices.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: This practice presupposes that, when one telephones a branch, one cannot get through to someone, whereas one can when one telephones a call centre. My experience has been the exact opposite. Whenever I telephoned a branch, someone picked up and helped with my query. As recently as yesterday, I spent 20 minutes on hold trying to get through to one of the bank's call centres. Is this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Michael McNamara: Our discussion inevitably brings us back to the events of 2008. Mr. Boucher was on the board of directors in November of that year. At that time, there were reports that a former Taoiseach was working with a consortium of private investment firms to purchase a controlling share in Bank of Ireland. Was Mr. Boucher aware of this or was the board ever approached by a former Taoiseach in that...

Prospects for Irish Economy: Statements (Resumed) (25 Oct 2012)

Michael McNamara: I have no doubt Deputy Seamus Healy and many of his cohorts would have preferred to see an immediate default when the Government assumed office. Such a default would have entailed an immediate €18 billion increase in the deficit because that is what the deficit was when the Government assumed office. Reducing it by the required €18 billion would have necessitated a reduction in...

Prospects for Irish Economy: Statements (Resumed) (25 Oct 2012)

Michael McNamara: They are protected.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Michael McNamara: I have three relatively succinct questions. I am unsure whether I agree with my colleague, Deputy Keaveney, on the link between live exports and the suckler cow premium. Nevertheless, there is a necessity to keep open the live exports channel. While the great majority of live exports of calves are not from suckler cow herds but from dairy herds at present, it is necessary to keep open that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Michael McNamara: In which document are these figures outlined?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Michael McNamara: Yes, I wanted to raise a specific issue relating to the Estimates.