Results 361-380 of 33,712 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The NTMA accepts that they are illegal and that taxpayers' money under its control is being invested in companies that are supporting illegal activities. Is that a fair assessment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I just want to be crystal clear. This goes to the core of the matter. The NTMA, which is entrusted with taxpayers' money, is investing, directly or indirectly, millions of euro in taxpayers' money in companies that are supporting illegal activities in the occupied territories under UN law. Is that correct? Is that a statement of fact?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: So it is correct. The NTMA has made the point in the past that it was seeking to divest. Maybe I will return to that because it is important. Some of the directed investments mentioned earlier, which are under the control of ISIF and are not pooled investments, are in banks. Taxpayers are appalled that their money is going to the likes of Leumi Bank, which is one of the largest banks in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: So the NTMA is not looking at it. It is talking to the investors who manage the investment on its behalf to see if they could look at their policies. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: What has the NTMA asked them to do?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: With respect, that is just a lot of words. I want to drill down to it. Has the NTMA said to the firm acting on behalf ISIF in managing these investments "Do you know something? We should not be investing taxpayers' money in companies that are involved in supporting the illegal settlements in the occupied territories." Is that the direction the NTMA has given to them? Will Mr. Ashmore...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I hear all that. I will go back to the bank and the fact that ISIF is investing taxpayers' money in an Israeli bank that is involved in supporting illegal activity in the occupied territories. What I am hearing is that ISIF has not done anything with it and is respecting the process. The list lies at the core of the issued. That is the core issue. If there Minister were able to designate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: My question goes to the core of it. The State is doing that. Mr. Gilvarry is a senior official in the Department of Finance, which is responsible for this legislation. There is no point in Mr. Gilvarry being here if he is not going to offer an opinion on the matter. The core of the issue is that illegal activities are happening in the occupied territories and we are funding them. Is it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: That is what the Private Members' Bill does.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Does Mr. Gilvarry believe that amendments can be made to the Bill to allow it meet its objectives in the view of the Department?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Let me talk about fair reputation. What does that mean in the context of the Israeli bank that is funding hundreds of homes in the occupied territories? From the point of view of the Department, Mr. Gilvarry is saying that is what the Bill needs to do. What do we need to do to be fair to this bank that is bankrolling these settler councils and the creation of homes in land that is being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: We should tighten the criteria. If we do not rely solely on the list, we should tighten the criteria and be clear in them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: That is fine.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: That is what I mean. We can create our own list but we can also be aware of, or make reference to, the UN list. That is not to say we take the UN list word for word. We can do it through engagement with the NTMA and ISIF. If we were to do something in respect of those principles, would it address Mr. Gilvarry's concern regarding the UN list?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I know, and I have moved away from that. If we did that, would it address Mr. Gilvarry's concerns?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The NTMA has said we do not want to be an outlier. Is it not the case, however, that the NTMA boasts on its website about being an outlier in respect of cluster munitions? Is that not the case?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Does it not state on the NTMA website that we were the first in the world in that regard?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The NTMA boasts about being an outlier. It is proud of the fact that we took that stance. Should we not be proud of saying that our taxpayers' money is not going support this type of illegal activity? Why is it okay to be an outlier in terms of cluster munitions but actually not be an outlier in relation to-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Pearse Doherty: That is fair enough. I have huge respect, which I have put on the record numerous times, for what the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, does and has done in the past in our investments. I include the officials in the Department of Finance. I want to finish on this point. I have two simple questions. Are we investing in any Russian companies at the minute?