Results 14,761-14,780 of 26,043 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: I will make a couple of points on the Bill for Deputy Michael McGrath. Section 1, which deals with definitions, defines the term "lender". Does this definition cover all lenders?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: Are there lenders active in the mortgage market which will not be covered?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: Deputy Michael McGrath referred to market failure. The law of unintended consequences may arise here. The Deputy stated the Central Bank of Ireland would intervene if an entity charges an interest rate that is one third higher than the average variable mortgage interest rate. Could this have the unintended consequence of preventing other mortgage providers from entering the market?...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: I ask the Deputy to respond specifically on section 5(d).

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: I did not say they would go up. What I said was that if one has new entrants in the market, one would expect interest rates to come down. If one has a barrier to new entrants, the worry would be in respect of a Central Bank review that finds that providers are charging a rate that is more than one third higher than the average variable interest rate charged by all mortgage providers. If...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: No, I did not say that. The point I am making is that this legislation could prevent average mortgage rates from coming down, not cause them to go up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am posing a question. Could the unintended consequence of this legislation be that it might act as a barrier to prevent new mortgage providers entering the market? This could have the consequence of preventing the average mortgage rate from going down. The Deputy is talking about it going up, whereas I am talking about it going down.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: A first-time buyer and mortgage holder could end up paying a much lower rate if this legislation is not introduced.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is based on competition in the market.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: A company seeking to enter the mortgage market will be aware that the Central Bank could, at some stage, interfere with the mortgage rate it is charging. We will agree to differ on that point. I am trying to do due diligence on the legislation. When insolvency legislation was before the House, Deputy Michael McGrath was a vociferous advocate for the inclusion of an appeal mechanism in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Bill will not establish a mechanism similar to that provided for under the insolvency legislation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: Can I ask the Minister and his officials a quick question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: How many new mortgage lenders came to the market last year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Minister said, "As the economy improves and as the banks stabilise and come back into profitability, borrowers will rightly feel that their mortgage and other loan rates should come down." In a normal situation I would agree with him. However, in a situation where Irish taxpayers and citizens have put billions of euro into the banks over the years and some taxpayer funds are still in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: Yes, I suppose shareholders, but more particularly in terms of the money that was invested. In many cases it would be the same people who have sought mortgages from the banks and are being fleeced in certain cases.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: Yes, but I did not want to lose time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: No, and I will finish on this point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: Specifically my question on mortgages.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: No, it was not. The point I made was straightforward. We are here today because the banks in certain cases are fleecing mortgage holders, many of whom are first-time buyers. My question squares the circle. How do we get a mechanism where banks do not charge a disproportionately high variable mortgage rate to boost their lack of profits in other areas yet maintain a balance in the market...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Discussion (20 Oct 2016)

Kieran O'Donnell: Mr. Burgess will get the point in Doheny & Nesbitt. Does Mr. Burgess agree with the thrust of Deputy Michael McGrath's Bill?