Results 521-540 of 31,184 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: We previously engaged in a good discussion on the need to review the activities of NAMA continually to ensure it delivers on the objectives laid down in the Bill. Section 224(3) states: As soon as may be after 31 December 2012, and every 5 years after that while NAMA continues in existence, the Minister— (a) shall assess the extent to which NAMA has made progress toward achieving its...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for his reply. He stated that this all depends on whether we believe NAMA will be in existence for longer than five years.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Would it not then make sense to have a review period that is shorter than five years? I may be missing something and perhaps the Minister will indicate if that is the case. It may be the case that by 2012 we will discover that there is a case for winding up NAMA. However, this is extremely unlikely. In such circumstances, therefore, after 2012 should we not review its activities more...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I was involved in drafting a development plan for Dublin when I was on Dublin City Council and became quite familiar with all the definitions of land use. One of the main definitions was institutional land. Within the Dublin City Council area there is a great deal of land so classed. This, however, is not mentioned in any of the Minister's definitions of land, particularly the...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Minister is aware the discussion was about a different kind of institution. I wanted to understand why it was not referred to here.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 2: In page 16, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "2.—(1) There shall be established a "Register of Derivatives" on the commencement of this Act, which shall include information on derivatives obtained under this Act and shall be detailed in the annual accounts of NAMA. (2) Information to be recorded under subsection 1 shall include, but is not limited...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for that clarification. I raised this point in earlier debates and that information was not made available to me.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I did not raise it with the Minister. It is an important clarification. To repeat what the Minister said, this information, with the exception of my suggestion for the counterparty, will be published as part of the annual accounts NAMA will furnish.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment. I support what Senator Twomey said in regard to the amendment. One of the points made in the discussion on Committee Stage was that while everybody here is emphasising that the NAMA institution must take all steps possible to ensure this does not happen again, this amendment proposes that it be put on a statutory footing as part of the purpose of the organisation....

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: It is an agreement all right.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: The Senator should not worry. I understand it perfectly.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: The Senator will listen very closely.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I support both amendments. I am particularly looking forward to having the opportunity to vote on the amendment tabled by Senators Mullen and O'Toole. They are interesting amendments. If the Government is to be serious about tackling this problem amendment No. 9 achieves that because it does not use the phrase "preferential purchasing rights". Most of the specified service providers for...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: That would be one hell of an asset.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I want to pick up on a theme that Senator Fitzgerald mentioned in her contribution, when she called for a debate on competitiveness and particularly on the interaction between our welfare system and how people work. There is an excellent analysis in The Irish Times today that merits discussion here. It compares the income for a married couple working in the PAYE sector with two children...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I fear that, owing to what is happening with income tax and decisions that have been made concerning the social welfare system, there is growing evidence that the same situation could currently exist. I want to make two practical suggestions to the Leader in this regard, the first of which adds a valuable dimension to the discussion taking place about the reduction of the minimum wage. If...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with my colleagues who called for a debate on the banking matters that have been discussed so far this afternoon. I disagree with Senator Callely's description of the Minister for Finance as being hamstrung at the moment.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: No previous Minister for Finance was more enabled or strengthened, in the context of the banking situation, than the current Minister, who led the way for the recapitalisation of the banks, introduced the banking guarantee scheme and was praised for his virtuoso performance during last week's debate on the National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009. If any Minister in recent Irish history...