Results 14,061-14,080 of 36,764 for speaker:Enda Kenny

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Economic Management Council Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: I put it to Deputy Adams that the budget for 2014 has not been signed off on. The budget for 2014 will be signed off on collectively by the Cabinet before next Tuesday. The House is aware that the Minister for Finance deals with the income stream in terms of taxation measures and so on. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform deals with the question of current spending and related...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Economic Management Council Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: Obviously it is not enough, but the initiatives taken by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, have certainly contributed to that positivity and sense of achievement. We know it is not enough but given the situation and that we still have to borrow €1 billion per month, it is never easy. We have made the point that this budget is difficult. We want to do what is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: I thank the Deputy for his global analysis of the financial situation.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: He is certainly not wrong in saying that experienced management was certainly lacking in the banks. Clearly, the extent of recapitalisation of the banks was an issue and obviously banks were given capital to deal with a range of mortgage options. The German general election is over. I understand negotiations are going on and it may take some time to determine what party or parties will...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: In June 2012, the European Council signed off on the question of the ESM having the potential to recapitalise banks. There has been considerable discussion of that. I would not say the promissory note deal was given to Ireland. The Governor of the Central Bank is a member of the board of the European Central Bank.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: He negotiated very strongly Ireland's case there. I disagree with the Deputy from that point of view. Nor were the other issues surrounding that just given to Ireland. We agree that for some time banks have lacked the experienced management to be able to deal with these things. At the more local, national level of dealing with distressed mortgages, it has been necessary to retrain people...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: We would like to think that the solutions worked out in those 80,000 and more are absolutely sustainable. Household debt and business debt are clearly real issues. The Deputy asked for some sort of financial SWAT team to be put together to deal with this problem. The Cabinet meets every week and if it is necessary to report situations, the Minister for Finance, obviously, has his finger...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: It is not a question of putting together some kind of exclusive SWAT arrangement here. The Cabinet actually meets every week and when it is necessary, this is discussed.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Economic Management Council Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 5, inclusive, 8, 17, 18 and 20 together. The Economic Management Council has met five times since the summer recess, most recently on 2 October. In general, the EMC meets on a weekly basis and it will continue to meet over the coming week in advance of the budget. The members of the council met representatives of the banks twice in 2012, the last...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: Land is available and contractors with a good reputation who have not been involved in any scandalous carry-on have applied to build some of them. The Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, is working with the relevant organisations to see what can be done to provide good, proper housing for those who need it. There is a clear demand for several thousand homes. Deputy Boyd Barrett and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: We have to put in place a system where that type of approach applies and we do not have cowboys playing hard and fast with people's lives by placing them in fire traps. In years gone by, very strict conditions had to be met when people were buying houses and mortgages would not be given unless these conditions were complied with and could be stood over. I understand fire certificates,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: I am not sure of the Deputy's question.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: This is one of a number of scandals across Irish society that was left to this Government to deal with.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: I am responding to questions from Deputy Boyd Barrett and would appreciate it if there were no interruptions. The situation is that Priory Hall as constructed is a fire trap. When I purchased my home I had to obtain a fire certificate stating that the property was in compliance with the planning conditions. All of the residents of Priory Hall were asked to sign documents when seeking to...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: No, I am not. The evidence given before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, which the Governor attended himself for a considerable period, set out his view. Clearly, however, the lenders - which are the banks - have, in 80,000 cases, reached agreement on a sustainable solution. I do not accept that letters stating it is the intention to proceed down...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: Yes but clearly, as happened in other jurisdictions where these letters arrived, and where there was no engagement, it brought a measure of engagement hopefully leading to a conclusion that is in everybody's interest. We deliberately inserted in the Act a section whereby a judge has a right to put a stay on all processes of repossession until every option and circumstance involved in a...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: The Deputy suffers from a lack of confidence about the future. The Priory Hall fire-traps were a legacy of an era that, I hope, is gone forever.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: The Deputy and I have discussed this matter before. These kind of fire-traps should never have been allowed to be built in the first place.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: While one cannot and should not paint every developer with the same brush, what happened in the case of Priory Hall was a scandal and a disgrace. A number of weeks ago, we looked at this matter seriously. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, made some comments yesterday. The residents now have the opportunity to discuss the detail of that and make...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (8 Oct 2013)

Enda Kenny: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1, 6, 16 and 19 together.