Results 8,381-8,400 of 35,563 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Fiscal Assessment Report: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: That is a secondary point. If there was any other measure-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Central Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Cuirim fáilte go dtí an coiste roimh an Uasal Cross agus a chomhghleacaithe. I welcome Mr. Cross and his colleagues to the committee. There were fine words from the Central Bank at the end. There is definitely a lot to do regarding the insurance market. I will delve into that. I have a lot of questions. I will try to get through them as quickly as possible, as time permits. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Central Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I thank Mr. Cross for that response, which brings me on to my next set of questions. I note the language Mr. Cross is using as we look at this practice. I am very clear I do not trust the insurance industry. I would not send it out to get a pint of milk for me. That is the reality. We know it has been the subject of dawn raids and European investigations and that what is happening here...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Central Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I ask Mr. Cross to address the issue of the overall quantum of price gouging or additional charging that is going on, affecting 3.5 million customers per annum. Has the Central Bank carried out analysis on that? The Financial Conduct Authority, FCA, in the UK , in the context of its ultimate ban, which does allow for discounts but no price walking from any year, estimates that a benefit to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Central Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Coming back to that issue, obviously, the Central Bank is allowing for that type of machine learning to take place for a renewal quote. This is how it works. Perhaps this is not being put into the equation, but undoubtedly what is spitting out from this machine learning is that the sectors I outlined are being targeted with higher premiums. The problem is that by allowing the first renewal...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Central Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: The point I was making is that none of that work the bank has done in terms of looking at the policy wording is available to the shop owner, the hairdresser or the publican in trying to assess if the Central Bank views his or her claim as being in scope. The Central Bank has done this work privately with the insurance companies. That work is to be welcomed. I recognise there has been a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Central Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: To pick up on Deputy Farrell's point, do we need a new data source for the database? If we are looking at motor insurance, for example, seven out of the eight largest motor insurance providers in the State are the same as seven of the eight largest motor insurance providers in Britain. When the costs of whiplash were reduced by legislation there, the companies, including AIG, AXA, Allianz,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Central Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I genuinely think that the industry has taken us for fools. Some of the commentary from the Central Bank in the latter part of this is in that space. I have agreed with much of the assessment. I really feel for businesses. If we look at employers' liability and public liability insurance, the cost of claims has reduced substantially since 2015. It has reduced for the last four years....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Central Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: It is something I will be in communication with the Central Bank on. We need to deal with the fact that the Equal Status (Amendment) Act 2012 is failing people and the Central Bank needs to step up. In Britain, we have the strategic environmental assessment, SEA, with a memorandum of understanding, with the relevant agency there, to make sure it has the teeth to make sure insurance...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: It is a pity that we are having this discussion at all. Ulster Bank's withdrawal of services in the State is a loss to the banking sector. We might get a chance to talk about what type of banking environment would be required for Ulster Bank or a new bank to enter the market. My first question relates to the legally binding agreement with AIB for the sale of approximately €4.2...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. We will know more in January about whether that will be elongated or not. Ulster Bank also announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding. MOU. The other one was a legally binding agreement with AIB but this was a non-binding MOU with Permanent TSB for the sale of a €7.6 billion portfolio comprising performing mortgages, excluding tracker mortgages. It was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Does Ms Howard have any sense of the scale of this, even if she does not have an accurate figure? Permanent TSB has a small business book. As we know, it was as low as €50 million. Are we looking at the same scale of the micro SMEs? Is it in that scale of €50 million, is it more like €10 million or is it in the scale of hundreds of millions?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I refer to the Lombard Ireland asset business finance part of it. How much is that valued at?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. Are we any closer to settling the range of staff? Where is the branch network at in terms of the figure for 25 out of 88? Where is Ulster Bank on the other branches? I ask the witnesses to give the committee an update on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: When are we likely to have a binding agreement between Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank on this portfolio?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: We had a major decision on a record fine relating to IT problems in a regulated financial institution. I am not asking the witnesses to comment on this. Ulster Bank has been plagued by IT failures in the past and many of its customers have been left high and dry without access to their accounts for numerous weeks in the past. Can Ms Howard speak to the committee about the challenge of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I ask the witnesses to address the issue of the branch network. Will Ms Howard outline Ulster Bank's overall loan bank? At what points in 2022 does she expect to have divested from that and have transferred those loan books? How much of that does she expect Ulster Bank to still have at the end of next year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Withdrawal from Irish Banking Market: Engagement with Ulster Bank (8 Dec 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Would that be early next year or later?