Results 761-780 of 6,295 for speaker:Michael D'Arcy

Seanad: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: In October 2016 the Department of Finance published a report on tax expenditures, which included a review of the treatment for tax purposes of trade union subscriptions and professional body fees. The review found that a scheme of tax reliefs for trade union subscriptions would fail to meet the evaluation threshold laid down by the Department’s tax expenditure guidelines. The...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: The Senators may be aware that during his response to amendments of a similar nature put forward during the Dáil Committee Stage debate, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, advised that officials in the Department of Finance have already commenced further work to examine the activities of Irish real estate funds, IREFs, and real estate investment trusts, REITs, in the Irish...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: We discussed this recommendation earlier with recommendation No. 6.

Seanad: Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Second Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: I thank Deputy Michael McGrath for the work he has done on the Bill. The Government welcomed the Bill and committed to working with Deputy McGrath, who initiated it in the Dáil, to make it more effective than it was when it started out. The Bill is quite short but it is very technical. The principle behind the Bill is that loan owners who purchase loan books will require authorisation...

Seanad: Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Second Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: I thank the Senators for their contributions. It is wrong to say that this Government has done nothing for people who find themselves in difficulty with a bank or somebody who has that loan sold onto a fund. There have been 17 actions and Bills to deal with this, beginning with the CCMA, and this is No. 18. We have a structure in Ireland that is historic in nature. We have a psychological...

Seanad: Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Second Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: That is the case and nobody wants to see anybody's property repossessed.

Seanad: Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Second Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: It is indeed and it always was going back to before the Famine. However, there are circumstances in which we are down to the hard cases. I have made the point previously that the legislation that is most relevant and not used much here is the insolvency legislation. Some people find themselves insolvent in respect of their property and there are no circumstances in which they can afford to...

Seanad: Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Second Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: The point I am making is that they can start again.

Seanad: Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Second Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: Someone who is insolvent and never coming out of insolvency will have an opportunity to go back to zero and start again, which is good. It is not used in our jurisdiction because it is a stain on somebody's character to go bankrupt. However, other jurisdictions have moved beyond that psychological barrier and people have the opportunity to restart and get going again. As a teenager in the...

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach.

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: I will respond on the sections which I heard Senators raise. I did not hear all of the debate. I do not think anybody heard it all, so the criticism-----

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: I do not believe any Minister heard it all.

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: That is a matter for the House. From the perspective of the Department of Finance, last month Ireland launched its first sovereign green bond. That was a really welcome development. It was a €4 billion bond, which was oversubscribed, raised by the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, to put into projects that will be sustainable and green energy-led. These will be the future....

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: The GLAS policy is-----

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: The GLAS policy is a governmental policy which has been implemented by the farming sector. I thank all the Senators for their contributions this evening. The annual transition statement forms a key part of the accountability arrangements between the Government and the Oireachtas in terms of the Government's action on climate change. This year is the first year in which a number of other...

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: This requires a clear mandate to integrate the demands of climate action in the decision-making process of all our regulatory systems and programme evaluation throughout Government. Project 2040 and the ten year national development plan, which underpins it , is the first time an Irish Government has ever attempted to ensure that the future goal is compact and connected, reasonably balanced...

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: The Leas-Chathaoirleach is very kind.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: African Development (Bank and Fund) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: I move amendment No. 1:In page 3, line 13, to delete “African Development (Bank and Fund) Act 2018” and substitute “Finance (African Development (Bank and Fund) and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018”. This amendment simply changes the Short Title and Long Title of the Bill to reflect amendments Nos. 3 and 4. These are technical provisions.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: African Development (Bank and Fund) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: A similar question was raised regarding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, AIIB, Bill, when we passed it this time last year. On joining, as is the case with all development banks, our engagement with the African Development Bank Fund will be guided and informed. Ireland's overall approach to development, including in the areas emphasised by our international development policy, One...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: African Development (Bank and Fund) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Michael D'Arcy: The bank has integrated safeguard systems unanimously agreed by the board of directors going back to 2013. That is the cornerstone of the bank's strategy to promote growth that is socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable. Additionally, as highlighted by the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network conducted in 2016, safeguards and standards are an area where the...