Results 8,301-8,320 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Public Service Contracts (4 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: It has not been possible in the time available to compile all the necessary information requested by the Deputy. The information will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Reorganisation (4 Dec 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is currently considering the introduction of a targeted Voluntary Redundancy Scheme in parts of the Public Service, primarily to address the issue of staff surpluses where staff cannot be redeployed within the system. Given the fact that the Defence Forces are currently below strength and that recruitment is ongoing, there are no plans to...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I said nothing unparliamentary.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: In response to Senator Cullinane, he might be interested to know that the Northern Ireland legislation was enacted by the Northern Ireland Assembly and I am sure all these issues were teased out there. I keep on saying we are trying to provide a balance in the Bill between the rights of creditors and the position of debtors and allow people to maintain some reasonable standard of living and...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I will deal, first, with the car. We have adopted what I would describe as a united Ireland approach. In Northern Ireland the amount is £1,000 sterling for a process similar to the debt relief notice; ¤1,200 is practically the same, based on current currency arrangements in this jurisdiction. Sinn Féin regards ¤1,200 as acceptable in Northern Ireland but wants ¤3,000 in the Republic...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: No, this is the significance of what Fianna Fáil is proposing. One has to examine how the debt relief notice works. One can be an individual with no assets, living in rental accommodation, who spends all his or her money on buying a very large car and has ¤20,000 worth of debt.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: On that basis Fianna Fáil would ignore the large vehicle and creditors would be told they would not get paid. There has to be some balanced approach. This is not centred on emotionalism and trying to discover what can be done. This is a classic Fianna Fáil approach whereby there are no financial limits to anything. Ceremonial jewellery, cars-----

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: This is absolutely classic. We are flaithiúlach, we throw money at it but we will not pay our debts.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: We throw money at everything but we will not pay our debts. That is how Fianna Fáil ran the country. It threw money at everything without knowing from where the money was coming. That is why we are where we are. In the context of dealing with insolvency legislation, it is applying the same economic philosophy to individuals in debt and to the creditors whose debts will not get paid. Let...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: One can do this with one item but when there is a whole range of items, a question to be asked is how seriously one is approaching the legislation or whether the Senator regards the way the economy was run in the period 2000 to 2007 as so good that it should be applied to individuals. Unfortunately that approach does not work. In the context of education, I understand there is an important...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: No, that would be the effect of the amendment.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: That would be the effect of the amendment. The Senator should take responsibility for the amendments he tables. He wants to present it in a particular way. I have to deal with the reality of the words. It is the words in the legislation that are of direct relevance, not the comments the Senator may make to try to make the words appear sensible or reasonable. When the legislation is...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: That is what the Senator's amendment would permit.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Senator's amendment would make that a possibility.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Senator is driving down the right road.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Senator Byrne should be less excitable about this. If only he showed that level of excitement about seven or eight years ago, when his party was destroying the country, I would be more impressed. It does not matter what figure I put in, no one will be happy. This type of provision generally does not exist in insolvency legislation in other countries. People in debt are stressed and in...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: In amendment No. 26 the Senator proposes to exempt one item of jewellery "of ceremonial significance". First, while I understand the sentiments behind his proposal, we would all recognise there are difficulties with seeking to discern ceremonial significance, varying it as it may be from person to person. Second, on the decision as to the monetary value, there is no monetary value of any...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: -----nor does he tell us what he means by "ceremonial significance". I have no idea what particular ceremony the Senator has in mind. There could be a series of different ceremonies for which people may want to use some item of jewellery, nor is the nature of the item clear based on this proposal. Somebody might think a large ring hanging out of their nose was of ceremonial significance.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: We are dealing with legislation and the reality is we have to define what we are talking about, but I agree with one aspect of this. We had a long debate on this issue in the other House. I do not believe that modest items of jewellery should require to be sold unless a debtor wished to do so to repay debt. The sad reality over the years has been that individuals have pawned items of...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Amendment No. 21 proposes the deletion of section 24(2)(f). This deletion arises as a consequence of amendment No. 32 in regard to the proposed deletion of the reference in section 24 to the treatment of goods on hire purchase. Amendment No. 32 proposes the deletion of section 24(8), which sets out the treatment of goods on hire purchase in the context of the debt relief notice process....