Results 10,321-10,340 of 26,493 for speaker:John McGuinness

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Reviews (22 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: 192. To ask the Minister for Health if a medical card review for a person (details supplied) will be expedited. [8927/17]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: The purpose of this meeting is to deal with matters relating to the banking sector. I welcome Mr. Larry Broderick, Ms Sharon McAuley and Ms Elaine Barker. I draw the attention of witnesses to the fact that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if they are directed by the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: Are union members, particularly those in call centres, able to express any form of compassion in dealing with customers or are they driven by a management decision to be aggressive to those who owe money? Is it their job to collect that money without showing compassion and to hound customers? Does this come from management as a strategy or is there flexibility for the person who makes the call?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: Are those whose job it is to contact customers in arrears encouraged to be aggressive towards those customers and to pursue them rigorously, as dictated to by the management of the bank? Is that a problem for those employees?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: If it is a case of individuals making calls to try to collect money, why are the banks being aggressive? As a public representative, I have received numerous complaints about the efforts of banks to collect debts using junior staff. My point is that these staff must be dictated to, or the call must be scripted in some way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: So we can take it that the script comes down from on high-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: -----and the staff have to pursue it in a very rigid fashion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: Many of them are being put in very awkward situations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: That is the point I am trying to make here. Has Mr. Broderick ever spoken to management about the feelings of staff who almost dislike going to work because they are being pushed in that direction?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: Bearing in mind the attitude of the management of banks in this country, how successful does Mr. Broderick think he and his colleagues will be in convincing the banks to establish a forum?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: No, we have to ask. I will put the question in a different way. How have these hard-nosed bankers reacted so far when it has been proposed to them that they should participate in this forum and when they have been asked to be more reasonable by having representatives of customers and employees on board? Have Mr. Broderick and his colleagues had a conversation with them about this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: Is there a date for this marriage?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: Is that not the problem?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: Mr. Broderick and his colleagues are at the altar on their own at the moment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: We will act as the best man.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: What about the banks? How long will it take them to reach a position where they accept there is a need to transform the banking model we have?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: The idea that all of the players would be given a place within a forum is certainly a good one because it could shape the banking of the future. Will that not be challenged by the fact that many of these decisions are based on what the banks have described here previously as customer needs? The banks have told us that customers are voting with their feet by doing things on the Internet and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: I would like to ask Mr. Broderick about how the tracker mortgage issue emerged. Senator Rose Conway-Walsh touched on the behaviour of the banks in that context. If something odd is going on, how obvious is that to officials in the bank who are at a lower level than management?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: The issue, as we discussed it with the bankers and as we are discussing it with today's witnesses, is that it looked like a cartel-type activity. It is strange that it happened in all the banks all at the one time. Does Mr. Broderick have a view on this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2017)

John McGuinness: We have asked for quarterly meetings with the Central Bank to do just that and flesh out the matter here publicly so that we all know what is happening. I have two final questions, one of which concerns tracker mortgages and complaints. If a customer makes a complaint to a bank at branch level, how is it passed on?