Results 1,861-1,880 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Written Answers — Credit Availability: Credit Availability (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: With regard to the provision of business credit, both AIB and Bank of Ireland have committed to providing not less than €3 billion each for new or increased credit facilities to SMEs in both 2010 and 2011. These plans were reviewed by John Trethowan and the Department and were found to be credible. Both Mr. Trethowan and the Department receive monthly progress reports from the two banks...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Commissioner Semeta was in Dublin on Monday 20th September last to address a joint EU-USA conference for investigators and prosecutors on the subject of tobacco fraud which was organised by the European Anti-fraud Office and the Revenue Commissioners. In the margins of that conference I had a bilateral discussion with the Commissioner and his officials on EU tax policy issues including the...

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: There is no doubt that the perceived uncertainty about the total cost of addressing the problems at Anglo Irish Bank has been cited as adversely impacting on the cost of Sovereign borrowing and for Irish financial institutions generally. These total costs arise because of the appalling lending decisions by the bank prior to nationalisation and the losses incurred in that regard. It is not...

Written Answers — National Asset Management Agency: National Asset Management Agency (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The National Asset Management Agency Act 2009, Section 211(1) specifies that NAMA has recourse through the High Court in the event that a debtor has disposed of an eligible bank asset, in order to defeat, delay or hinder the acquisition by NAMA. I am informed by NAMA that it will take the appropriate action where it considers that this has occurred.

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As I indicated in my Statement earlier today much has been said about senior debt obligations in Anglo Irish Bank. The position is that senior debt obligations rank equally with deposits and other creditors under Irish law. I have no plans to change this position. There is, therefore, no question of seeking to impose losses on holders of such senior debt in Anglo or indeed in any other credit...

Written Answers — Financial Institutions Recapitalisation: Financial Institutions Recapitalisation (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: In April of this year following consultations with the Irish authorities, Eurostat published an estimated General Government Deficit for 2010 of €18.5 billion. At that stage the significant capital supports needed for the banks were not included as work was ongoing in that regard. Earlier today, I announced the final figures for the banks and I indicated that as a result of the supports...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Following the recent publication of the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) by the Central Statistics Office, officials from my Department contacted officials of the Central Statistics Office to discuss the differences between the numbers attributed in the QNHS to the "public sector" and the "public service" numbers as collated by my Department. The outcome of these contacts is a...

Written Answers — Commissions of Investigation: Commissions of Investigation (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: On 7 July 2010, the Government announced its decision to establish a Commission of Investigation into the banking sector in Ireland. The Commission was formally established on 21 September 2010 by Government Order. The person concerned will receive a per diem fee of €1,000 plus an allowance of €4,000 per month towards travel and accommodation expenses for the duration of the work of the...

Written Answers — Credit Availability: Credit Availability (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Government is concerned about conditions for enterprise and has taken a series of initiatives to increase the flow of credit to the real economy, most notably, the establishment of the Credit Review Office and the €3bn SME lending plans of AIB and Bank of Ireland which I feel will ensure that viable SMEs continue to access credit.

Written Answers — National Asset Management Agency: National Asset Management Agency (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: To date loan assets belonging to Anglo with a nominal value of €16 billion have transferred to NAMA for a consideration of €7 billion representing an overall discount of 58%. As I announced in my statement earlier today, it is now intended to transfer Anglo's remaining eligible bank assets in one single tranche by the end of October. NAMA has completed a review of the assets securing the...

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Deputy will be aware that the particulars of the disposal of the Austrian subsidiary were disclosed in the Notes to the 2009 Annual Reports & Accounts. Note 14 to these accounts (page 75) provides details on the transaction, including a sales figure of €141m for the disposal and a profit of €49m. The note also indicates that the Bank provided the purchaser with a €24 million long...

Written Answers — Bank Guarantee Scheme: Bank Guarantee Scheme (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The amount of sub debt and senior debt issued before September 2008 and which will remain on the books of the six covered institutions after 1 October 2010 is as follows: Senior debt - €25.88 Subordinated debt - €6.93bn

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I expect the review of the decentralisation programme to be completed before the end of 2011. The decentralisation projects to Fermoy, Mallow and Youghal, County Cork are comprehended by the deferral by the Government of decisions on the timing of the implementation of the balance of the programme pending the review in 2011. To date, no sites have been acquired to provide permanent...

Written Answers — Economic Forecasts: Economic Forecasts (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Recently published quarterly national accounts figures show that GDP declined by 1.2 per cent between the first and second quarters of this year. However, this decline follows an increase of 2.2 per cent in the first quarter - in other words, taken together the data for the first two quarters suggest that the level of GDP has stabilised. The quarterly figure for GNP was a decline of 0.3 per...

Written Answers — Tobacco Smuggling: Tobacco Smuggling (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners who are responsible for the collection of tobacco products tax, and for tackling the illicit trade in cigarettes and tobacco products that the information requested by the Deputy is as follows. Firstly, the Revenue Commissioners acknowledge that there is no internationally recognised method for precisely determining the amount of tax lost as a result...

Written Answers — Financial Services Regulation: Financial Services Regulation (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The position is that on 3 June the High Court granted the Joint Administrators permission to appoint advisers on any prospective sale of the company in question. As a consequence of this appointment, a summary note of the business was circulated by the advisers to all interested parties in early July in order to establish the level of interest in purchasing the company. On the basis of the...

Written Answers — National Pensions Reserve Fund: National Pensions Reserve Fund (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) was established in 2001 under the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000. The purpose in establishing the NPRF was to meet as much as possible of the cost to the Exchequer of social welfare pensions and public service pensions to be paid from the year 2025 until at least 2055. The Act provided for the establishment of the National Pensions Reserve...

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I have been informed by the bank that it is not aware of any issues in relation to the adequacy of securities held by the Bank against its loan portfolio during the time period from the introduction of the Bank Guarantee in September 30th 2008 to Nationalisation on the 21st January 2009. The Bank has in place a series of controls to ensure loan security is adequately taken, held and is...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 122 together. The most recent Exchequer Returns covering the period to end-August show that the corrective budgetary actions taken by the Government to date are having a positive effect. The Exchequer Borrowing Requirement for 2010 was forecast to be of the order of €20 billion and developments so far are in line with this estimate. The Exchequer...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (30 Sep 2010)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I propose to take Questions Nos. 41, 62 and 66 together. The Implementation Body provided for under the Public Service Agreement 2010 to 2014 (Croke Park Agreement) has met three times since July and will meet again today. In these meetings, the Body has concentrated on the implementation of the Agreement, including putting in place strong structures at sectoral level and seeking from public...