Results 15,321-15,340 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Bank Codes of Conduct (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I agree with much of the Deputy's analysis. It has been a very difficult time for a group of people who borrowed to acquire family homes at the height of the Celtic tiger and who, for one reason or another, have found it very difficult to pay their mortgages. On top of that, they have found that the collateral underpinning the mortgage is not worth what it was when they borrowed. It is a...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Bank Codes of Conduct (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Central Bank is responsible for the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. It initially proceeded in this regard by publishing a draft code and it then took into account advice it received. The code was put out for public consultation, 230 submissions were made and it was modified accordingly. The final version which has been promulgated seems to have attracted significantly more support...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have some statistics that may be of help to the Deputy. At the end of March 2013, a total stock of 79,689 private dwelling house mortgage accounts were categorised as restructured. That is an increase of 1.8% on the end of December 2012. Of the restructured accounts, 53% are not in arrears. New data collected this quarter, that is, quarter 1 of 2013, indicated that 76% of restructured...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Bank Codes of Conduct (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Central Bank has now concluded a review of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, CCMA, following a public consultation process, with in excess of 230 submissions received. The revised CCMA was published on 27 June 2013 and came into effect on 1 July 2013. The submissions made, as well as a feedback document outlining the Central Bank's response to some of the main issues raised, have...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I agree with the Deputy. This is a difficult situation and I am glad that there is now movement to resolve it. On the data available to me on the targets set down, approximately 25,000 offers have been made across the banks already. I can get more precise data for the Deputy. I do not have to hand the breakdown on what are the specific solutions across the range of solutions that may be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Investigations (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The question was whether tapes exist in the other banks, and I assume they do. If a customer rings a bank looking for a statement, there is usually a warning on the answering machine that tells the customer his conversation could be recorded. Anyway, what I was unaware of was that there were internal recordings of conversations between banking executives. I had thought only the calls from...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: On 13 March last, the Central Bank, in its capacity as regulator of credit institutions, announced new measures to address the problem of mortgage arrears. These included the publication of performance targets for the six main banks in respect of the number of sustainable solutions to be proposed to mortgage borrowers. Initially, the Central Bank required the relevant lenders to propose by...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Investigations (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: Seemingly he did. As I said in my original reply, in 2009, the Financial Regulator compelled the production of approximately 45,000 hard copy documents and approximately 9 million electronic documents. The electronic material remains in the possession of the bank as the Financial Regulator investigation was deferred in 2009 pending DPP proceedings. As I understand it from the information...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Staff (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The new management and staffing arrangements of IBRC-Anglo Irish Bank were in place long before I became Minister for Finance. I have no role in the day-to-day running of any of the banks and decisions about who does and does not work in a bank are a matter for the board and management of the bank in question. The Deputy is moving on to very dangerous ground in naming individuals and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Staff (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is a matter for the directors, boards and management of banks to decide who does and does not work in a particular bank. I remind the Deputy - I am sure he will be disappointed to hear this - that I brought in a special liquidator and liquidated IBRC last February. We closed down the bank. The Deputy would love to be able to point across the Chamber and tell me the individuals in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Investigations (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I confirm that neither I nor any official in the Department of Finance was aware of the contents of the tapes which have emerged in the media until now. The contents of the tapes were not raised with my Department by the board or management of IBRC and my attention has not been drawn to any Government member, staff, adviser or associate of the Department who was previously made aware of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Parliamentary Inquiries (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have not seen Governor Honohan's comments. The Governor and Central Bank are under law independent in the exercise of their functions. I do not answer for the Central Bank before the House. Governor Honohan was involved and was one of the principals in one of the three inquiries that have taken place. The Deputy might seek clarification from the bank.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IBRC Staff (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: Like every citizen in this country who is working hard to restore the economy, I am deeply disturbed by the taped conversations from 2008 involving these executives of the former Anglo Irish Bank and dismayed to hear senior banking executives refer to the banking crisis with such arrogance. Irish taxpayers have grimly endured the austere cost of the bank recapitalisation and the bank...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Parliamentary Inquiries (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I would not disagree with the objective stated by the Deputy for an inquiry. It has to be a fully open inquiry and must pursue the facts wherever that pursuit leads. The Deputy is aware that there was a referendum which would have empowered an Oireachtas committee, or committees, much more strongly than they are currently empowered. I still think, however, that the inquiry can be conducted...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Parliamentary Inquiries (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Government has already indicated that it is determined to uncover the causes of the banking crisis in Ireland that caused such devastation in the Irish economy and necessitated the bailout from our international partners in late 2010. The key mechanism to achieve this will be the establishment of a formal inquiry into the banking crisis, enabling all those involved to come before the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: The corporation tax paid by some large multinational corporations and the rate at which they pay that tax is an issue that has attracted a lot of public and media attention recently. Every country in the world has its own particular tax system. These systems have been put in place and developed over the years to reflect their own circumstances. Some multinational corporations, with the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Debtors (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: As advised in response to a recent Parliamentary Question 82 of 20th June 2013, NAMA debtors who have been declared bankrupt outside of Ireland had, by reference to the nominal or par value of loans, exposure to debt of approximately €8 billion at the time of NAMA's acquisition of loans from the participating institutions. As also advised, NAMA has enforced over the assets securing...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the service provided by personal insolvency practitioners does not qualify for exemption in accordance with the EU VAT Directive, Irish VAT law, and relevant decisions of the European Court of Justice. Therefore, like other insolvency services such as those provided by liquidators, receivers and examiners, the service provided by a personal...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, I have no statutory function in relation to banking decisions made by individual lending institutions at any particular time. This is ultimately a commercial decision for the management team and board of each bank, having due regard to their customers and the impact on profitability. I must ensure that the banks are run on a commercial, cost effective and independent...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Charges (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Noonan: While the Government is acutely aware of the increasing financial stress that some households and businesses are facing in the current environment, ultimately the pricing of financial products, including customer account charges, is a commercial matter for the management and the Board of the Institution. As the Deputy will be aware the Relationship Framework with the bank provides that the...