Results 7,721-7,740 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed) (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Yes.

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed) (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I beg the Deputy's pardon.

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed) (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Somebody suggested a figure of €500. We must remember that what we are doing under the debt relief notice is allowing an individual to have €20,000 of debt written off over a period on the basis that he or she has very limited means and is incapable of paying his or her debts. I remind Deputies again that the creditors may be the local shop which, to remain open, depends on...

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed) (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: We are taking the amendments together. On the exempt motor vehicle, I believe a vehicle with a value of £1,000 is exempt under a similar debt mechanism in Northern Ireland. The relevant legislation was enacted in Northern Ireland in 2011 and Sinn Féin was part of the legislative process. We originally proposed a figure of €1,200 but I undertook to give consideration to...

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed) (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The order of the House was that all of these amendments would be taken together because they are interrelated. Obviously, Deputy Mac Lochlainn should be entitled to speak on the issue related to the value of the car. It may be helpful, therefore, to allow me to complete my contribution on this series of amendments because there is a connectivity between them all. They have been grouped for...

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed) (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The legislation envisages it as an annual review of what are reasonable expenses. The reality is it will be open to the insolvency service to consult as it deems appropriate and to consider a range of reports and publications that address this issue, as well as consulting with particular Departments. I do not expect it will be appropriate that on an annual basis the insolvency service will...

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed) (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I will deal with all this group of amendments, beginning with Seanad amendment No. 25. They provide for miscellaneous amendments to Chapter 1 of Part 3, which deals with the debt relief notice process. Seanad amendment No. 25 makes clear the debt relief notice process concludes when the debtor's application for debt relief notice is withdrawn, deemed to be withdrawn or refused or when the...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations: Motion (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I take the opportunity to wish committee members a very peaceful Christmas and happy new year. I thank the select committee for the work done on defence and justice issues during the course of the year. I am very conscious that we have published a lot of legislation and reports in the past 12 months and that the committee has been put under enormous pressure as a consequence. I thank...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations: Motion (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I can only promise to keep the Chairman under the same pressure in 2013.

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed) (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Perhaps I should come in at this point. These amendments relate to the issue of reasonable living expenses. Amendment No 23 empowers the insolvency service to draw up guidelines in respect of a reasonable standard of living and reasonable living expenses for debtors. These guidelines are referenced in sections 24, 60(4), 95(4) and section 85D, as inserted by section 146 of the Bill, of the...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations: Motion (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I should resist the temptation to provoke my colleagues. There is an old legal phrase, res ipsa loquitur, which means "the thing speaks for itself". That is the perception of the Secretary General of NATO. It is not the perception of the European Union, nor is it the objective or purpose for which the battlegroups were formed. I suppose the Secretary General of NATO can have his personal...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations: Motion (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Battlegroups are not up to anything. They are part of the European Common Security and Defence Policy and are in place to provide assistance in emergency peacekeeping, peace enforcement and humanitarian relief. It is important within the context of the EU, where we have common values and beliefs, that the Defence Forces will be equipped to respond appropriately to deal with humanitarian...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations: Motion (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: It is tedious.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations: Motion (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: It is tedious when it is constantly raised. There is ample information available on the purpose of the battlegroups. They have not been engaged but they are there as a stand-by. I agree with Deputy McGrath that I could think of something better to call them than battlegroups, but that is the term we have inherited. They are not about to declare war on anybody or invade any country; nor...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations: Motion (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am pleased to report to the select committee on the Defence Forces' participation in UN missions in 2011. The report for 2011 was laid before Dáil Éireann on 5 March 2012 and the following motion has been placed on the Order Paper of Dáil Éireann:That Dáil Éireann approves the Report by the Minister for Defence regarding service by the Defence Forces with the...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations: Motion (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Perhaps we can let members contribute generally.

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: Having excluded reference to amendment No. 24 in that commentary, allow me to get out the notes on that amendment and address it. Amendment No. 24 states "Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the Insolvency Service, in the performance of its functions under this Act, from sending or receiving documents or other information, or otherwise communicating, by electronic means"....

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: It is in the seventh grouping.

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: No, it is not included in these amendments. I was just making some opening comments. When we come to the seventh group of amendments, we will deal specifically with specialist judges. I was just making an opening comment on it.

Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: From the Seanad (19 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: These amendments relate to the organisation, functions and governance of the insolvency service itself. In operating the new debt relief notice, debt settlement arrangement and the personal insolvency arrangement, the insolvency service will, for maximum effectiveness and efficiency, operate on a paperless basis to the greatest extent possible with electronic completion and transmission of...