Results 14,021-14,040 of 20,797 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: I am not asking about the loan sale process.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: I know that. I took that the first time it was said, but I am not asking about that. I am asking about whether correspondence, phone calls and everything else that passed between the Department and NAMA were documented.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: Regarding Project Eagle, it seems obvious from the documentation that was sent to the Minister, Deputy Noonan, from the then Minister of Finance in Northern Ireland, which had been sent on by Brown Rudnick, before our Minster sent it to NAMA that there was a concern about a fire sale of assets in Northern Ireland. Obviously, we would be sensitive to that. Northern Ireland is not just any...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: Does the Minister accept that the Executive suddenly changed tack? From being worried about a fire sale, it was suddenly the case - perhaps across the political spectrum, but certainly on behalf of a number of politicians, including the Minister of Finance, the First Minister, etc. - that the Executive was a big advocate of the process that eventually materialised. It was a big change.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: Was the Minister aware that the then First Minister, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Coulter and Mr. Cushnahan met PIMCO in early 2013? If so, when was he made aware? This change stemmed from it.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: I know.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: But the Minister would have been privy to the phone calls and letters-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: -----and he would have known that there had been a seismic change.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: We will be here for a while. There is a pathway from the meeting to which I referred to the sale of Project Eagle, over which there are many question marks. Regarding section 10 of the NAMA Act, the sale of assets and the legal requirement that NAMA get best value, would it not be fair to say that the Northern Ireland portfolio was no normal group of properties? For many reasons and...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: The Minster was in conversation with them. He referred to a number of phone calls on this matter. The then First Minister thanked the Minister personally after the sale. I am paraphrasing, but he wanted to thank the Minister for the positive way in which the latter had dealt with the matter.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: He is. We must get both sides of the conversation.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: That is a very good point.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: Fair enough, and we will get the other side of those stories when they appear before the committee. Did it not sound odd to the Minister at the time that PIMCO withdrew? NAMA representatives have said that they got PIMCO to withdraw, but PIMCO is of a different view. Granted this was a difficult and busy time in the Government as there were ongoing issues regarding charities and the Garda...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: Was the Department aware?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: As far as the Department was concerned, there was nothing unusual about the fact that this thing had fallen apart but it was back together in a matter of weeks.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: On a point of information, the Minister said that PIMCO withdrew but NAMA contradicts that and says it pushed PIMCO off the table. NAMA contradicts the Minister.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: In fairness, the Minister is playing with words now.

Select Committee on the Future of Healthcare: Inequality in Access to Health Care: Discussion (5 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: The old structure with all the directorates is being merged and there will be only a certain number of people over-----

Select Committee on the Future of Healthcare: Inequality in Access to Health Care: Discussion (5 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: It is another layer.

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016: Second Stage (4 Oct 2016)

Alan Kelly: I will not use all of the 30 minutes. I will break my contribution into three components. The first is on the Bill, which I will go through in a small bit of detail. I have two very capable Ministers of State in front of me, one of whom is leaving the Chamber. I want to make a number of short pre-budget contributions. I will raise a very serious issue which is not one I have raised...