Results 41-59 of 59 for nama speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ...Sinnott. It is nice to have good news coming so soon after the release of Sharon Commins. Like Senator Fitzgerald, I express the concern on the Labour Party Bench about the enormous risk that NAMA poses. We had fundamental disagreements with the NAMA legislation, which is why we voted against it. At the same time, as Senator O'Toole said, we all hope for everyone's sake that it will...

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

Ivana Bacik: I second the amendment. It is in keeping with the general theme we have pressed on Second and Committee Stages, that the operation of NAMA should be carried out in as transparent a manner as possible in the public interest and that there should be sufficient scrutiny and accountability to ensure there is public trust and confidence in it. We tabled amendments on Committee Stage that were...

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

Ivana Bacik: ...we could adopt here is that banks which wrongly refuse to lend to viable businesses are named and shamed. It is a constructive suggestion from this side of the House to ensure the key purpose of NAMA is achieved. I ask the Minister to strengthen the wording by substituting "may" with "shall" in section 210(1) and also to strengthen the vague idea in paragraph (b) of that subsection which...

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

Ivana Bacik: .... However, this is the key section which deals with the overriding public interest - the need to ensure the availability of credit to borrowers, including small and medium enterprises - with which NAMA is really concerned.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Nov 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ...as a way of ensuring the flow of credit. I hope he will re-examine these Labour Party amendments to ensure greater scrutiny and oversight of the way the banks operate after the establishment of NAMA to ensure credit flows in the public interest.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Ivana Bacik: .... There is also an important aspect to the Labour Party's amendment No. 1 in that, in addition, it provides for review of the Act. I will deal with that amendment first, as I note that review of NAMA is provided for in Part 14 of the Bill, but it is a very minimal review at present. Section 223 states: (1) As soon as may be after 31 December 2012, and every 3 years after that while NAMA...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ...referred on Second Stage because I am not sure it is strong enough to ensure that credit will flow again. Amendment No. 64 provides that guidelines would be approved by the Oireachtas committee on NAMA. I am glad to see the Minister has accepted that principle in his own amendment No. 63. That amendment states that "The Minister shall cause a copy of guidelines issued under subsection...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Nov 2009)

Ivana Bacik: More seriously, I would like to ask the Leader for a broader debate on banking. Last night's debate on NAMA became, essentially, a debate about bank structuring. The Minister responded to the Labour Party argument for temporary nationalisation and also responded to the argument made by Senator Ross for the same thing. It seems that 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Senator Ross...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I am very grateful to Senator Alex White for sharing his time with me. I welcome the opportunity to debate the NAMA legislation in the House, as many of us had sought that opportunity. As I said on the Order of Business, it is unfortunate the business has been ordered by the leader of Fianna Fáil in the House in the way it has been. I cannot understand why we cannot have more time to...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I add my voice to that of others who have been critical of the way in which today's debate on NAMA has been organised. Perhaps "organised" is the wrong word. While I am glad we are debating it and I look forward to contributing, we need a debate on the way in which business is ordered in the House. There is an aura of machismo about the way in which-----

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Ivana Bacik: We have been waiting for months to debate NAMA and it has finally arrived. This is a matter for the Government and the leader of Fianna Fáil in this House and no one else. He is the person who determines the way in which business is conducted. Therefore, he is responsible for late night sittings. Is this a necessary or efficient way to run a business? Senator Fitzgerald pointed out that...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Business Plan: Statements (29 Oct 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ..., as the Minister said, the data on which the plan is based are provisional in nature. The estimates are based on data provided by the five credit institutions which are most likely to engage with NAMA, namely, AIB, Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, EBS and Irish Nationwide. Clearly, NAMA has not yet had the opportunity to assess in forensic detail the loan books involved. Therefore,...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Oct 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ...of the Seanad and I would also like to propose an amendment to the Order of Business on behalf of the Labour Party that instead we debate what is being debated throughout the country, namely, NAMA's business plan which was published last week. It is being debated everywhere but not in the Upper House where we should see relevant debate take place every week. Will the Leader amend the...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Oct 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ...politics with a vengeance. People outside are not only discussing the resignation of the Ceann Comhairle last night - which I believe was a correct decision - but there is an ongoing debate about NAMA. I ask the Leader to give time in this House for us to debate NAMA properly and in an informed manner, with answers to the questions that need to be asked. I refer, in particular, to the...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Sep 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ...left. I have the privilege of having been elected by the graduates of Dublin University to represent them in the Seanad and I will continue to work hard to do so. I ask the Leader for a debate on NAMA. While I know we will debate the economy this evening, there is an enormous and growing public anger about the extent of the bailout to bankers that NAMA represents. Anyone who saw Fintan...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I support calls for a debate on NAMA. Having campaigned around Dublin Central, it is certainly clear to me that the real concern of people in that constituency and others relates to the problems with the economy and jobs. They are very fearful about job losses and about their future and that of their children. This derives mainly from the considerable uncertainty associated with NAMA. Dr....

Seanad: Order of Business (19 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Many of us feel developers have some nerve if they are thinking about challenging NAMA when it is their own profligacy and greed that has led to the problems we face. We need to debate this. We need to debate the role of the Seanad which has been coming under attack from all quarters, including Members of the House itself. Last week's outing by the Oireachtas golf society constitutes a...

Seanad: Supplementary Budget Statement 2009: Statements (9 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ...a 15% discount on the book value of these assets and will only be obliged to take on 85% of the risk. The bulk of this risk will be taken on through the proposed national assets management agency, NAMA, in a gamble of monumental proportions. It is particularly monumental when one considers the context. The total public expenditure figure for this year is just over €60 billion — €20...

Seanad: Supplementary Budget Statement 2009: Statements (9 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: ...end up owning the banks. Why should we not move more quickly in that direction? Why should we not nationalise the banks now? Given that we are nationalising the risk through the establishment of NAMA, why should we not also seek to nationalise profit? Senator Norris made a good suggestion with regard to creating one national bank because this would confer on taxpayers a greater...