Results 7,421-7,440 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Other Questions: Tax Yield (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy must be the only the person in the country who is expressing surprise at these figures this morning. Everyone knows we have lost almost a decade because of the policies pursued by the previous Government. We know the country was on the verge of bankruptcy. The banks actually became bankrupt and they had to be bailed out. We could not continue the way we were. If it were not...

Other Questions: Tax Yield (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: First, we do not live in a society that is class-based or class-divided. This is a republic and we are all workers.

Other Questions: Tax Yield (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: I know there are some people who do not like to describe themselves as workers. However, to try and present a case that a cohort of people - workers - were the only ones who lost out during the past eight years is a fallacy. Everybody got hammered. The Deputy need only look at the live register.

Other Questions: Tax Yield (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: Look at all the small businesses that closed down.

Other Questions: Tax Yield (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Boyd Barrett is building a fictional model of society. He is also selling unsound political currency to the people. He is pretending that out there somewhere there is a mythical enormous group of millionaires hiding under the bushes, and if we only taxed them adequately, everybody else would have to pay no tax. That is the way the Deputy presents it, which is grand. It is the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Private Rented Accommodation Eviction (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: As I noted in my original reply, when a buy to let is sold, the rights of the tenants continue. They do not lose any other their rights because of a change of ownership. In circumstances where a receiver is appointed to manage a landlord's interest in a dwelling, it is essential that the rights of tenants are protected. While the circumstances of each case may vary depending on the terms...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Private Rented Accommodation Eviction (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy did not ask me in her original question to introduce legislation to prevent lending agencies from selling buy-to-let properties. She asked me to introduce legislation to oblige banks to honour existing leases. That is a tenant rights issue. Under the 2004 Act, lending agencies are obliged to fulfil the tenant rights obligations on a change of ownership. If a problem arises in...

Other Questions: NAMA Bonds (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The NAMA chief executive stated in his opening address to the Committee of Public Accounts on 18 December 2014 that NAMA is aiming to redeem a cumulative 80%, or €24 billion, of its senior debt by the end of 2016 and hopes to have redeemed all of it by the end of 2018.  He stated that these targets were predicated on conditions in the Irish market remaining favourable and on NAMA...

Other Questions: NAMA Bonds (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: Generally speaking what the Deputy outlined is correct but while the nominal value was €74 billion, the purchase price of €31 billion was paid with bonds. As NAMA sells its loan books, it can repay the bonds. It has committed to repaying 80% by 2016. It is in a position to pay back all of its senior bonds and junior debt and still be in surplus. NAMA is not going to cost the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: When we entered into office, we quickly put a range of options in place so that banks and lenders could interrelate with people who were in arrears and devise solutions that would enable the latter to remain in their homes while continuing to pay all or part of their mortgages. There was a menu of solutions, but we realised that there was no one-size-fits-all solution. Some options would...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: I accept the Deputy's sincerity on this issue. No one has a monopoly on the knowledge about how to resolve this issue. It has proven difficult internationally. When people lose their jobs and fall into arrears, they do not have the wherewithal to service their mortgages, so one must devise solutions to keep them in their homes. It is the Government's policy that people remain in their...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Private Rented Accommodation Eviction (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: I thank Deputy Coppinger for her question. Issues relating to the rental market and tenancy rights are for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly. I am informed by his Department that, in circumstances where a receiver is appointed to a landlord's interest in a dwelling, it is essential that the rights of tenants be protected....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Operations (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for her question. In light of the recent concerns raised in the Houses of the Oireachtas and elsewhere regarding the Siteserv transaction and the public discourse this has caused surrounding the handling of other transactions undertaken by IBRC, I have directed the special liquidators of IBRC to review certain transactions which occurred between 21 January 2009, the date...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Operations (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: I have set out the position in reply to other Deputies and also in a lengthy debate last night on a motion put down by the Fianna Fáil party, and we set it out in full. I have issued a legal instruction to the special liquidators to carry out a review. I have dealt with the concern about conflicts of interest by appointing a retired High Court judge to monitor and advise on any...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Operations (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: First of all, there was no difference of opinion between the Department of Finance and myself. My role and that of the Department of Finance was to hold IBRC accountable. It was difficult to do so because of the arrangements made by the previous Government in the legislation that nationalised IBRC, the former Anglo Irish Bank, and also because of relationship framework that was put in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for his question. As the Deputy is aware, the Government has put in place a broad strategy to address the problem of mortgage arrears and family home repossessions. The primary focus of this strategy is to support those home owners in difficulty with their mortgage repayments and, in so far as possible, to avoid repossession of the family home. The Central Bank of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Liquidation (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: It was announced on 23 April 2015 that I would be directing the special liquidators of IBRC to review certain transactions which occurred between 21 January 2009, the date of the nationalisation of IBRC, and 7 February 2013, the date of the appointment of the special liquidators to IBRC. The review will cover transactions that resulted in a capital loss to IBRC of at least €10 million...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Liquidation (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: Every fact about this issue has been put on the table by the Department of Finance and myself, whether by way of parliamentary questions or freedom of information requests made by Deputies. Not a single fact or piece of evidence has been brought forward by any of the people who are making third party allegations. I see this as possibly the first step in an investigation. When KPMG...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Liquidation (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The key issue of concern to a number of Deputies is over conflicts of interest. Themodus operandiis that no institution will be involved in scrutinising itself. That is why the judge is involved. It is not a question of KPMG investigating 30 transactions. If KPMG has a perceived or actual conflict of interest, some other forensic accountants will be brought in to carry out that piece of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Liquidation (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The review will include 30 transactions of over €10 million.