Seamus Sherlock ESB Protestor Standing in Limerick County

[C. Flower]

Government is a complicated business. Open and transparent government more complicated still. I'll have a bit of complication over your system of connected cronies creaming our resources any day.

Shadow boxing, B von B.

[Baron von Biffo]

Shadow boxing, B von B.

Trying to debate the issue.

You say your system doesn't need to have clear rules laid out. That means no-one can know in advance whether they meet the criteria for keeping their home or if they'll have to pay their debts. With no rules, these are matters to be decides on an arbitrary basis to suit the connected and cronies.

[C. Flower]

Trying to debate the issue.

You say your system doesn't need to have clear rules laid out. That means no-one can know in advance whether they meet the criteria for keeping their home or if they'll have to pay their debts. With no rules, these are matters to be decides on an arbitrary basis to suit the connected and cronies.

I can say with certainty that 99% of the things that you say I say I don't say.

And no one decides in advance to go belly up.

[Baron von Biffo]

I can say with certainty that 99% of the things that you say I say I don't say.

That's well out of order. I play straight here and never misrepresent people.

I asked you a few very straight questions about how you would order things if you were Taoiseach. You evaded the questions. You're not willing to say what rules you would apply and your support for people is based on some opaque criteria of your own - You back Sherlock but not Quinn and McFeely. You can hardly be surprised if I point out that what you're proposing is a crony system.

And no one decides in advance to go belly up.

Nonetheless the laws have to deal with it. Having a clear, impartial and predictable system is better than deciding on a case by case basis depending on whether we like or dislike the people involved.

[C. Flower]

That's well out of order. I play straight here and never misrepresent people.

I asked you a few very straight questions about how you would order things if you were Taoiseach. You evaded the questions. You're not willing to say what rules you would apply and your support for people is based on some opaque criteria of your own - You back Sherlock but not Quinn and McFeely. You can hardly be surprised if I point out that what you're proposing is a crony system.

Nonetheless the laws have to deal with it. Having a clear, impartial and predictable system is better than deciding on a case by case basis depending on whether we like or dislike the people involved.

Curved balls. I evaded them, and you decided what my answers might have been, had I answered

I don't know enough about Seamus Sherlock's situation to comment on it in any detail.

I do know that I read that the IRBC was leaving Quinn ownership of a house the size of a hotel. That makes no kind of sense to me when he owes a lot of money. It would be easy to set a ceiling on the value of properties that could be retained: say a maximum of 450,00.00. If the house was saleable for more, the surplus could be used to pay off debt.

[Baron von Biffo]

Curved balls. I evaded them, and you decided what my answers might have been, had I answered

If someone is being evasive others will speculate as to the reason. My questions may have made you uncomfortable but they were perfectly reasonable. You raised the issue of an equitable rule and I wanted to see how you would see it working.

I don't know enough about Seamus Sherlock's situation to comment on it in any detail.

I do know that I read that the IRBC was leaving Quinn ownership of a house the size of a hotel. That makes no kind of sense to me when he owes a lot of money. It would be easy to set a ceiling on the value of properties that could be retained: say a maximum of 450,00.00. If the house was saleable for more, the surplus could be used to pay off debt.

Again, make yourself Taoiseach and ask what would happen if you bring in a €450k rule - 30 seconds after you announce it there's a Facebook campaign against you because it would see country people able to keep bigger houses than Dubs.

And then there's other things like, is it fair to have the same threshold for a a single man as a family of 8. Or if a couple separates can they have a €450k house each before joint debts are repaid.

Life is messy and complicated and trying to govern by simplistic solutions doesn't work.

[Sam Lord]

The Baron is in favour of applying the law impartially. Neither the rich nor the poor are allowed to sleep on the park bench. Laws against begging will be used against everyone whether they are a millionaire and live in a mansion or destitute and living on the street. It is the only fair way of managing a society.

[Baron von Biffo]

The Baron is in favour of applying the law impartially. Neither the rich nor the poor are allowed to sleep on the park bench. Laws against begging will be used against everyone whether they are a millionaire and live in a mansion or destitute and living on the street. It is the only fair way of managing a society.

Well that added exactly nothing to the discussion.

[Saoirse go Deo]

Might have been mentioned already but I skipped over the BVB/C.Flower tennis match, but what bank(s) are involved, what is the amount and has the man been evicted?

I'm just now emerging from my study cocoon and haven;t been following things...

[C. Flower]

Might have been mentioned already but I skipped over the BVB/C.Flower tennis match, but what bank(s) are involved, what is the amount and has the man been evicted?

I'm just now emerging from my study cocoon and haven;t been following things...

Well done. The bank is the Bank of Scotland. The man is resisting eviction, reportedly with a number of supporters backing him up 24/7.

The debt I believe to be about €250,000, and he has lodged "a large sum" with his solicitor and says he wants to clear the debt with annual lump sum payments (presumably from farm income).

[Saoirse go Deo]

Ulster Bank then, the great folk who brought in 100% mortgages in Ireland and exacerbated the development orgy by desperately trying to woo Anglo's customers away... owned by the Brits now of course.

So when it comes down to having a bank (outside of the guarantee) which played a major role in messing up our country lose out on a quarter of a million or having an Irish person kicked out of their home and having to be housed and looked after at the taxpayers expense no doubt, I know whose side I'm on.

But of course its not as black and white as I stated - the man in question is trying to pay his way as best he can.

[PaddyJoe]

Seamus Sherlock coming up live on Prime Time.

[C. Flower]

Seamus Sherlock coming up live on Prime Time.

Watching.

[PaddyJoe]

Why is Burgess saying that Eugene will get his debt written off under the Personal Insolvency Bill? AFAIK it isn't even law yet?

[C. Flower]

Why is Burgess saying that Eugene will get his debt written off under the Personal Insolvency Bill? AFAIK it isn't even law yet?

I'm confused. I thought he said that the Act would be no use for people with mortgages.