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Finance Minister Michael Noonan speaking at the Oireachtas committee this morning.

Michael Noonan: "No magic bullet" for mortgage debt relief

Finance Minister lays out the challenging state of the economy at Oireachtas Finance Committee – but says public finances “remain on track”.

FINANCE MINISTER Michael Noonan has said that the granting of a blanket debt forgiveness scheme is “simply not a realistic option”.

Speaking to the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform this morning, Noonan said that there was “no magic bullet or one-size-fits-all” solution for struggling mortgage-holders.

He said that solutions would be found on a “case-by-case basis” and urged indebted individuals to get in contact with their lender as soon as possible. He said that some of the capital given to banks last March as part of the Central Bank’s PCAR exercise “is available to the banks to write off bad debts” but that the banks had to be “prudent” and “not fritter away their capital base through widespread unwarranted debt write-offs”.

Noonan had spoken on the mortgage debt issue yesterday, when he had claimed that there were only 58 compulsory repossessions ordered through the courts in the past year. Central Bank figures released on Monday showed that one in 14 mortgages were in arrears of 90 days or more.

He said that the Government has asked an inter-departmental group to report back by the end of September on their recommendations for how mortgage over-indebtedness might be relieved.

In his opening remarks to the committee, he said that the strong performance of exports was good news but that this contrasted with the “weak” level of consumption and investment in the domestic market.

However, he also noted a downturn in many export markets over the summer and that given the uncertainty that the downgraded US debt rating had inspired, Ireland would “not remain immune in the event that the global recovery was to stall”.

He said that our position in the markets was still “very volatile” and that our bond rates “could start going out again” due to a number of variables.
The Minister suggested that the Department of Finance’s current forecast of a 0.8 per cent growth of GDP would be revised when he releases his Pre-Budget Outlook in October. This outlook plan is to set out target for 2012 to 2015 and Noonan said he hoped giving “clarity” to the public would give them confidence and get individuals and businesses spending and investing again.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) said yesterday that the Government would have to cut €400 million more than it had planned to do in December’s Budget because of further weaking of the economy.

On an optimistic note, he found “evidence of stabilisation” was found in public finances figures, with total tax revenue 1.4 per cent above target to the end of July. He said the government’s deficit target for the year is still “on track” for 10 per cent of GDP. He said:

The end-August Exchequer Returns will be published tomorrow evening, and while the figures are still being finalised I understand that they will show a broad continuation of the overall position as of end-July.

The government deficit target for 2012 is 8.6 per cent of GDP.

  • On the banking sector, Noonan said that “major milestones” had been passed in the past five months and there had been “significant progress” in stabilising the Irish banking system, including:
  • the merger of AIB and EBS, and the merger of Anglo Irish and INBS;
  • the recapitalisation of the ailing banks, which Noonan said had required a “lower commitment from the Irish State… than initially expected”, largely because of private investment in BoI and exercises with subordinated bondholders;
  • the agreement of a plan with all the banks for the deleveraging/selling off of €70bn of assets.

He focused particularly on the provision of credit to SMEs and claimed there are “a number of initiatives in train to assist SMEs in obtaining the credit they will require to take active part in the economic recovery”. He said that he felt the banks would find it “challenging” to lend €3bn to SMEs in 2011. The Department of Finance is to commission an independent survey for SME credit – Noonan said that banks are complaining that they are not being asked for credit by enough “viable firms” in order to meet their lending targets.

The Credit Review Office’s quarterly report, published this week, said the credit target of €3bn in SME loans from AIB and Bank of Ireland would not be met for 2010. The Small Firms’ Association and ISME both rejected that the reason the target would not be met was anything to do with the demand, or lack thereof, for loans. The SFA’s Patricia Callan had said that their association’s members had come to the conclusion that “there’s no point going near the banks” because they wouldn’t meet their strict criteria for lending.

Answering a question from Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath at the Oireachtas committee this morning, Noonan said that he couldn’t rely on “anecdotal” evidence from “interest groups” that supply of credit was the problem, and not the demand. He recommended that businesses go to the Credit Review Office if they want a review of a loan application. He also said Richard Bruton was looking at the contagion of the property collapse, which he said could have affected “small, decent family businesses” who might have thought the smart thing at the time was to invest their profits in property.

On Ireland’s compliance with the joint EU/IMF programme, Noonan said the next review mission in mid-October would be very important as there are a number of specific conditions attached to that third formal review.

Read: 10 things you should know about Ireland’s mortgage debt and arrears>

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    Mute JustAoife
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    Jun 12th 2015, 6:52 AM

    I actually hate this guy. He’s the human embodiment of everything that us wrong with the world today.

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    Mute Plantation Watch
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:20 AM

    I’m sure he doesnt hate you Aoife, or even know you exist.

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    Mute JustAoife
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:42 AM

    Whats your point? athat because he’s well known he’s somehow a better or more valuable person than me? He’s still just a person and a pretty obnoxious one at that. People who worship celebrities like some sort of demi God’s need their heads examined.

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    Mute JustAoife
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:48 AM

    Oh yeah and I’m sure he’s sending a card right now to thank you for defending him or are you just an insignificant little nobody just like me?

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    Mute Aaron O Connor
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:07 AM

    I’ve never heard of him before this article. I bet he’s hung like a sea horse.

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    Mute Ciaran Ó Fallúin
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:43 AM

    Aoife, I think the point is that you probably don’t need to waste you energy hating someone you’ve never met and likely never will meet when the can’t/don’t impact your day.

    If you spent your day hating people from the internet, your day would be an awful waste.

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    Mute JustAoife
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    Jun 12th 2015, 10:11 AM

    Maybe hate was the wrong word then. Him, his antics or his existence don’t affect my daily life just the odd time when I unavoidably come across him (like now) it irritates me and reminds me of all the stupid people in the world that idolise him , that’s it.

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    Mute Rob
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    Jun 12th 2015, 6:50 AM

    Tool

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    Mute Conor Church
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    Jun 12th 2015, 6:49 AM

    wonder will he pay women to vote for him too…

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    Mute Pepper Brooks
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:27 AM

    He’s some legend!

    37
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    Mute Cabe™
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:58 AM

    Well they did vote in Bush for a second term, so there’s hope for him!

    35
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    Mute Joe Harbison
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    Jun 12th 2015, 7:06 AM

    I’ve never heard of him but he seems to be overcompensating. Anyone who has to work so hard to prove and demonstrate his macho, heterosexuality to himself and everybody else clearly has a few underlying uncertainties. He might be happier if he came to terms with them!

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    Mute Pearse McMullen
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    Jun 12th 2015, 7:21 AM

    Seems like he is so far back in the closet, he is sitting in Narnia

    75
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    Mute Ísla Carabine
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:13 AM

    You should have a gawk at his Facebook page, you may actually get irrationally angry after a few minutes. Don’t get me started on the idiotic girls in the pictures! On the up side he’s had a lot of work done, hair plugs, veneers etc so there is still one photo out there of what he used to look like……

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    Mute Ron North
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:14 AM

    He’s probably overcompensating for being a trust fund baby, It’s all Daddy’s money so basically hes a guy who hasn’t accomplished a single thing in his life.

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    Mute Darragh O'Connell
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    Jun 12th 2015, 6:58 AM

    Please, the less we see of this ars*hole the better!

    108
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    Mute Ríonach
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    Jun 12th 2015, 7:20 AM

    Why are Irish news sites giving this gobs**te coverage? We’ve plenty of them ourselves; and plenty of decent people worth reporting on as well.

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    Mute Mick Bacon
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    Jun 12th 2015, 7:24 AM

    Click bait.

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    Mute Yvonne Nic Gabhann
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:10 AM

    I lost all respect for him after seeing a recording of him kicking a woman full force in the face.. not that i really had much respect for him to begin with!

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    Mute JustAoife
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:03 AM
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    Mute Andrew McQuillan
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:35 AM

    He’s going to need to learn the correct placement of an apostrophe rather than an opening single parenthesis on his poster for a start.

    Shove that up your playboy lifestyle!

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    Mute justanothertaxpayer
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    Jun 12th 2015, 12:31 PM

    The apostrophe is in the correct place and there are no parenthesis on the poster at all.

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    Mute right wing
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    Jun 12th 2015, 7:14 AM

    I wish I was him, lucky git!

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    Mute Stephen B
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:51 AM

    You wish you had his money (his dad’s dodgy money) and so do I, but he’s a complete tosser!

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    Mute Dan Smith
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    Jun 12th 2015, 10:25 AM

    His poker earnings are only a fraction of what he earns. Most of his income comes from Daddy Bilzerian’s bank account. What I love most of all is that he claims to be a navy veteran & only spent around 3 months in the navy before dropping out hahaha. I was in Coppers last week for a few hours so I guess that makes me a nightclub owner by Bilzerian’s logic….

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    Mute Tongueless Ghost
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    Jun 12th 2015, 8:17 AM

    What a knob jockey

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    Mute Rebecca De Stanleigh
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:29 AM

    Terrible human.

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    Mute mrs b
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:44 AM

    He seems like a right pr¡ck but soooo many men would want to live that life..and so many women are clearly happy to be used by him ..that’s what’s really sad here

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    Mute AnneMarie McCarthy
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:53 AM

    I’m sure they’re compensated well for their time. Probably by the hour.

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    Mute mrs b
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    Jun 12th 2015, 10:12 AM

    Very true.. just had a gawk at his inst-ego page there… good god.. how shallow is the is guy.. I get that the guy likes his women but wouldn’t it all get a bit boring. .same cardboard cut out women.. doesnt look like conversations would be top of their list .. It’s an embarrassment to the female sex that these women totter around a egotistical maniac massaging his ego hoping to be the one he’ll choose.. have some respect ladies

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    Mute Kevin O Farrell
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    Jun 12th 2015, 11:55 AM

    a male version of the Kardashians, pointless American celebrity!

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    Mute Daithi Mac An TSionnaigh
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:42 AM

    He should be put down

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    Mute Gerard Ryan
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    Jun 12th 2015, 9:58 AM

    The ego has landed.

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    Mute Pat O'Dwyer
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    Jun 12th 2015, 10:04 AM
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    Mute Brian Power
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    Jun 12th 2015, 10:40 AM

    He is a crap at poker

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    Mute Conor Cartch Quigley
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    Jun 12th 2015, 5:43 PM

    Professional arsehole

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