Results 1,141-1,160 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Thank you, Chairman.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Thank you, Chairman. The Department of Finance and the DSG and the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank, they failed to anticipate the crisis that was just around the corner. Why do you think that happened?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Because those listening in are wondering about the €64 billion. Do you regret that this expert group couldn't see that the taxpayer was going to be paying this huge bill?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Just, thank you. Can I bring you to page 9, 13.1: "A presentation made to the MAC in DOF dated 31 March 2008 on resolution issues, stated that a special insolvency regime for banks could not be achieved quickly." Who made that presentation?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Because we did have evidence earlier that the OECD had prepared, in 2008, a section of their report on Ireland which dealt with ways you could have resolution there, but the Department took it out of the eventual report. So there was some material on resolution regimes that the OECD had provided at that time.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Could I bring you to 13.6 on the same page? The section ... the last sentence: "Substantial legal risks would have arose in seeking to undertake a bank resolution when the board, senior management and shareholders of that institution would vigorously assert that the institution was fundamentally sound". Wasn't that the wrong brief to put to the Attorney General? It was that all the people...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Thank you, yes.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Well, then, we wouldn't have had to rescue them and you'd save the €64 billion. Could I bring you to 16.2: "The DOF did not have any legal mandate to undertake its own analysis of the banks’ financial position". Does the Department of Finance not have a financial stability mandate and, in fact, doesn't the Department of Finance, as the custodian of the public purse, commission...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: And is the Department of Finance more free to undertake research now than it was-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Finally, on 2.1: "On my appointment, [I think that was in 2005] I was not advised by Mr O’Gorman or Mr Considine of any substantive concerns regarding the CBFSAI structure." There's a substantial amount of evidence that the bulk of the damage was done by 2005, but you weren't advised that there was any awareness in the Department of how much of the problems to assert themselves in...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: It said that it did not detect a 25% per annum increase in credit.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Sectoral concentration was also in the public domain, isn't that right? It was published by the bank and by the Central Statistics Office, so the Department of Finance should have been aware of sectoral concentration, in the construction industry in particular.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (24 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: A deleted section of the OECD report that we discussed this morning had that 60% of Irish bank lending was in construction, and 40% in the UK, so that we were out of line. Thanks Chairman, thank you, Mr. Beausang.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: I am concerned by reports that local authorities are imposing extremely high levies on new house construction at a time when such construction is needed to meet housing demand and rents are rising to record levels. The report last Sunday from the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, told us there was a €60,000 levy on each new house and a levy on construction of €351,774 per...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Commissioner Phil Hogan (23 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Commissioner. We had many great debates here when he was Minister and I wish him well in his role in agriculture. Taking up Senator Norris's point, there have been design faults in the way the euro ran and faults on both sides. It is a pity that there was not better co-ordination between the launch of the single currency in 1999 and the problems of 2008. We still need to get...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (18 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Thank you, Chairman, and welcome, Mr. Cardiff. You say in your statement: "...one should not jump too quickly for a guarantee approach, and should insist on a broader consideration of options". How many options, ideally, should there have been before the group that met on 29 September? The guarantee, nationalisation, consolidation, liquidation, how many were there, can you recall?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (18 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Sorry, E-----?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (18 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: So, there's five there, probably more. Now, you were answering to Deputy McGrath. Were these costed?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (18 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: Those five options.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (18 Jun 2015)

Sean Barrett: So, that's a much more scientific presentation than, sort of, what the people have read about ... you know, 4 o'clock in the morning, lobbyists around the place, and all the documents gone afterwards. Now, I'm ... so, the ... what you said is ... is interesting in that regard, yes.