Results 2,821-2,840 of 35,563 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I am talking about the MFA+.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: No. In the context of the MFA+, which is dealt with in Part 6 of the legislation, does the Minister of State have any forecast in relation to the State's envisaged contributions? Schedule 4 deals with the schedule between us and the EU in terms of the MFA+, is that correct?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: To clarify, I am not referring to section 6 but to Part 6 of the Bill and to sections 17, 18 and 19 which we are discussing, which deal with the issue of-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: -----MFA+ and the contribution agreement. The contribution agreement is in Schedule 4 to the Bill.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Is Schedule 4 to the Bill connected to the MFA+?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: This section allows, for the first time, the State to enter into an MFA+ contribution agreement. Therefore, it is enabling legislation. That is what section 18 does. The terms of that agreement are set out in Schedule 4. Is that not correct?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I ask the Minister of State to explain the terms of this agreement in the context of what we are being asked to agree.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Does that mean there will be no variation regardless of the GNI of each member state during the lifetime of the agreement?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: When will the final-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Of course.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Section 19 deals with the call on the Exchequer, which is why I wanted to raise these in this context. I may table amendments on Report Stage. As the Minister of State knows, we are very supportive of the legislation and particularly EU support for Ukraine. In that context, as we know, support may be required directly from either the European Union or the bodies in which we have...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister of State made the point that in a war scenario, there is always a risk or fear of corruption. Does she have concerns about corruption in the pre-war period in Ukraine?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Of course, and that goes without saying. Returning to the legislation we are scrutinising and which I support, it is important to ensure that large amounts of Irish and EU taxpayers' money is actually reaching where it is supposed to go. The Minister of State mentioned that she has no information on corruption prior to the war. This issue has been well documented and I suggest that she...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Nobody suggested that, with respect.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister of State said she was unaware earlier and I suggested that she reads up on it. I ask her to let me finish my comment. Nobody suggested that she is uneducated and she should not try cheap shots. I am making the point about accountability for European money. I was suggesting that she read up on the special report on reducing grand corruption in Ukraine which was published in...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: What are the mechanisms?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Let us deal with the EU. This is a substantial increase in State or EU loans or grants being provided. What are the additional mechanisms that adjoin this and that deal with the concerns of the European Court of Auditors? The court has made the point that oligarchs and vested interests across Ukraine are the root cause of corruption and pose the main obstacles to the rule of law and the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: EU supports have been paid to Ukraine in recent years and they have, rightly, dramatically increased in the past two years. Does the Minister of State or the Department have knowledge of any incidents that gave rise in the European Commission to concern about corruption, where the money has been paid and it is questioning whether it has got to the right end point?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: If there is, maybe the Minister of State could provide a note. Perhaps that is something that could be checked with either the European Commission or the Department at a later stage.