Results 101-120 of 33,953 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I presume the SES is going to give us the general Government balance for the years 2028 and 2029.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Is it that the Government does not know? Why would it not be provided in the SES? Why would the general Government balance not be provided for those years?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Okay and publication of that is expected in-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: At the start of July, okay.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: IFAC also noted that the estimated costs incurred from the defective concrete block grant scheme were only provided in the given year and should have been provided over a longer-term horizon. Can the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, clarify to the committee whether this has been done now in the Stability Programme Update 2024? Can he provide the projected cost factored into the base in each of the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: When the Minister does that, can he also provide information on whether the projections for each of those years up to 2027 are in current cost or constant cost?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Current, that is, whether they are based on 2024 costs or are basically adjusted for inflation.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Table 10 of the stability programme update shows the budgetary projections out to 2027. It provides non-voted capital expenditure in each of the years until 2027, which includes, albeit not exclusively, transfers to the future Ireland fund and the infrastructure and nature fund. Can the Minister clarify the items that make up the remainder of this envelope? When we take 2027, for example,...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I am particularly interested to learn if it is money for the Housing Finance Agency or something of that nature. I will go on to the next table, which is table 12 on page 30 of the stability programme update. This deals with the technical assumptions on expenditure for the period until 2027. It gives core year-on-year increases. I note what the Minister said about this being the last...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. Is the Minister still using ELS as 3% of total in-year core current expenditure? Is that the calculation the Department is making or will it have granular detail this year?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. That is ELS and maybe we will circle back to that again, given that the Government significantly underfunded health in last year's budget. However, I will come back to that issue again. In terms of the core year-on-year increase, is the Minister able to identify the capital expenditure increase for each of the years from 2025 to 2027, inclusive, outside of the windfall capital? Does...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Of the core year-on-year expenditure, which is in line 3 of table 12, can the Minister give us the figures as to the amount of capital that is included in that, based on the capital ceilings he has just read out?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: On the basis of the core year-on-year increases - if we take 2026, for example, it is €4.797 billion - how much of that is capital?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Then there is windfall capital, which is a separate line. Windfall capital does not get covered in the Minister's core expenditure rule and therefore tries to save his blushes when he breaches the 5% spending rule again this year for the fourth time. Where does that sit? Does that just sit in addition to it?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Definitely.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: In fairness, the Minister is consistent as he has never met any-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: As I was saying, the Minister is consistent in that he has never reached his own rule. I would criticise the Minister if he tried to do that. Moreover, I would criticise him again because we have the housing crisis because the Government is not investing basic sufficient capital to build social affordable cost-rental homes. As for the numbers that underpin this stability programme update,...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Can the Minister tell us of the €750 million for next year? The Minister has no indication of how much of that is going to housing construction. The Minister has the amount going to the Department, rather than at that granular level. Is that correct?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: We do know how much is going to the Department of housing at the minute; we just do not know how much is going to construction because a large portion of the capital for the Department goes to Irish Water, for example. The Minister, Deputy McGrath, talked about the importance of both bricks and mortars and the services as well. Is it the case that we do not know the detail of how much goes...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Discussion (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: On housing, from a factual position, the target numbers for affordable housing and cost rental were not met. Social new-builds were under-provided for as well. The Department used some of those resources to make a large number of acquisitions. On whether the targets are met for next year, in the Minister's view, are the capital headings sufficient to meet the targets that are laid out in...