Results 7,161-7,180 of 36,118 for speaker:Pearse Doherty
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: In that board pack was there an agenda item with a note in it suggesting a proposal to withdraw cash facilities from 70 branches across the State?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: And that went to the Minister for Finance, the Department of Finance, a week before the board meeting.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Did Dr. Hunt receive any communication at all before the board meeting or between the board meeting and when the announcement was made public, either from the Minister for Finance or any of his officials or representatives on that matter?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: None. Is Dr. Hunt aware whether the Minister for Finance or any of his officials read these board packs?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Let me put it this way; on any occasion when the board pack which goes from the bank before the board meeting takes place, has there ever been communication from the Department of Finance before the board meeting has happened in the past year?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Dr. Hunt cannot recall. Okay. Are the board packs addressed to a specific individual within the Department of Finance, or to the Minister?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Is there a key person that -----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: So, Des Carville or somebody of that nature.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: So that would be the first communication on the proposal by the bank to withdraw cash services, that would the week before the board meeting of June, yes?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: When was the first communication with the Minister or his officials that the decision was taken?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Okay. Were any issues raised at that stage, on the Friday?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: In a different guise, in a different era, Dr. Hunt was a special adviser to a former Minister for Finance, so he knows how this area works. Was he surprised at the reaction to the decision of AIB, at a political level, or did he feel that he had approval given the silence from the Minister's officials?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: So within hours of the announcement being made and the letters landing, what was Dr. Hunt's initial reaction to that? Had the bank decided at that stage that it needed to change track?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: I know that the bank got it wrong, and has made the reversal, it happened within a three-day period in fairness. I am trying to figure out, with letters starting to come in straight away within hours of this announcement, when Dr. Hunt, as the CEO, or the board said "maybe the official decision was not taken but we need to change tack".
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Was it on the third day, the second day, was it within the first 24 hours?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Does Dr. Hunt have any idea what the Government reaction was to the letters it received in regard to this, in particular the Minister for Finance?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: I was one of the politicians who contacted AIB to ask it to reverse the decision.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Did the Minister for Finance contact the bank?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: We see from the freedom of information, FOI, releases that the day after the announcement, which, as Dr. Hunt said, was the day the bank was starting to make the decision to change track, the Department reached out looking for speaking points. Was it not the case that the bank answered some of the concerns it was getting?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)
Pearse Doherty: Okay, and AIB provided speaking points stating it was an arm's length commercial decision and access to cash services would be through the post office and so on, all the stuff that was in the press release. If that was the conversation with the Department of Finance on the day Dr. Hunt says the board started to change-----