Results 7,001-7,020 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: The institutions are negotiating in good faith and a number of examples have appeared in the media without contradiction. One of the key requirements for the Greek authorities is that the primary surplus of 4.5%, which was originally required, would no longer be required. That was a huge concession by the European institutions. As colleagues know, a primary surplus is the surplus a country...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I was not party to the negotiations because I can only play a part in them at Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings. We do not have an Irish representative at the technical talks but nor does any other country. The negotiations involve the representatives of the three institutions and of the Greek Government. By the middle of last week, all information emanating publicly and privately suggested...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Murphy's last intervention is composed of series of rhetorical questions which are not real questions. They are rhetorical questions to make political points. As I stated at the start of the process we are engaged in now, we stated our position very early on at the first meeting where this was discussed in the Eurogroup and ECOFIN. At the meeting, and publicly, I stated the Irish...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: We have substantially done our negotiations because we are no longer a programme country. I told the Greek Finance Minister that he should look at the way we resolved our problems when we were refused a write-down on the private debt element. We resolved our problems by getting very long extensions of the maturities of the official loans to Ireland. We got all the margins removed, relating...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: If we were only involved in the negotiation of a pay increase for two nightwatchmen we would not announce the gap because it would affect the possibility of a resolution. Nobody negotiates on the basis of saying “the gap is now this much”. That only paints people into corners.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I believe Deputy Boyd Barrett's analysis is incorrect. I am not in favour of austerity. I finished austerity in Ireland in the last budget. We increased no taxes and imposed no further expenditure cuts. There is no austerity regime in this country. Austerity was a means to an end and we are all glad it is over. It is the same in every European country, whether in Spain, Portugal,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: May I answer Deputy Boyd Barrett's question? The bigger problem is that while I can access the position of the institutions and can get reasonable information, I do not know what the Greek position is, because many of the Greek statistics are fictional. That makes it very difficult, if one does not know the position of the interlocutors. There are always two sides when creditors are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: It had a primary surplus last January. It does not have it anymore.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: With respect, Deputy Boyd Barrett does not understand the position of many of the European countries. European countries that contributed to Greece's two programmes went to their parliaments and then the parliamentarians went to their people and told them that they were giving loans to Greece which would be paid back. That is what they told their taxpayers and they are accountable to their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: No, I need to reply as I go along.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: No, I would rather reply separately, because Deputy Boyd Barrett has made a whole series of unsubstantiated charges again. There is great solidarity between the member states of Europe, all 27 of them, and the Greek Government and the Greek people. That solidarity has been proven in two separate programmes where European taxpayers contributed €350 million to Greece, which would have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: What document is the Deputy talking about?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: First, it is very important that we reduce the burden of our sovereign debt and, indeed, the burden of personal indebtedness. They are priorities of the Government, as I described earlier. I hope to have debt under 100% of GDP by the end of 2016. It is not the fact that we have to repay a great deal of interest each year that prevents us from putting extra money into capital investment, it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: There is a space there where we will have a very strong investment programme and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will, I understand, be announcing a capital investment programme before too long.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tribunals of Inquiry Recommendations (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: In response to the Deputy's question the Moriarty Tribunal made a number of recommendations which affected a number of Government Departments. As Minister for Finance I can only respond in relation to the recommendations made in relation to my own Department. The tribunal pointed out problems to be addressed in our system of financial regulation.  Poor supervision, an overly-deferential...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tribunals of Inquiry Recommendations (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: In response to the Deputy's question, the Moriarty Tribunal made a number of recommendations. Since the publication of the report in March 2011, my Department has undertaken to implement recommendations that fall under my remit. This work continues and is discussed at a Divisional level within the Department and at regular policy meetings held by officials.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Payments (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioner that the information to be furnished on VAT returns does not require the yield from particular products or activities to be identified. In these circumstances, the amount of VAT collected in respect of coal, as returned by traders registered for VAT, cannot be identified in the overall yield of VAT. I am advised also by the Commissioners that the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Invalidity Pension Payments (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: An invalidity pension is a taxable source of income and this was not changed by any provisions announced in the 2011 Budget. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that in March of this year the person concerned requested a tax review for the years 2011 to 2014 inclusive. In the course of that review it was established the person concerned was in receipt of an invalidity pension which...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: IBRC Expenditure (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Special Liquidators that they are not in a position to provide the requested information due to commercial confidentiality and ongoing litigation involving the family referred to in the question.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: IBRC Expenditure (16 Jun 2015)

Michael Noonan: I would like to direct the Deputy to the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (in Special Liquidation) update report of 12 March 2015 which is available on the Department of Finance website at and in particular pages 58  to 67 inclusive.  The report provides details of the fees paid to A&L Goodbody, Linklaters and other legal advisers up to 31 December 2014. I am...