Results 7,341-7,360 of 32,610 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am really aware of the importance of our screening programmes and the vital role they play in the detection and treatment of diseases that can be life-altering and life-threatening. This is the reason, in the aftermath of the darkest periods of Covid, that the Government was so determined to try to get our screening programmes operational again and to encourage all who have concerns to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand that at the start of the year, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, made changes to the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 with the aim of providing certainty and clarity regarding the process for those looking to set up solar and wind farm projects. The Department is aware of the issue the Deputy raised and is examining it. It...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy McNamara for raising this matter. This is an issue that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and I acknowledged in our budget day contributions. We acknowledged that we have seen, particularly across the summer period, a steady increase in the inflationary and cost-of-living pressures that many are facing. The Government is well aware of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: In any comments that I make publicly, particularly on the work I do within the eurozone, I have to be conscious of and respect the independence that the European Central Bank has in these matters and I have to recognise that, for decisions that it makes that are significant for all of the economies in Europe, it is independent and it has to make those decisions independent of public and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: There is great value in hope as we look to how we can lead our country through this awful disease but the strategy we have is not based on hope. We have a strategy that is based on putting in place public health guidance with immense resources from our country to equip our hospitals, GPs and nurses with all possible measures and supports to help them deal with the approaching challenge. The...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: In my experience of engaging directly with farmers and the agricultural community, those who most understand the challenges of sustainability and what is happening in nature in front of our eyes are those who earn a living from it and engage with it every day on their farms with their herds. I fully understand the anxiety about what the future could bring. It is a future and an anxiety that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand where the Deputy is coming from. This is the reason Pillar 2 funding is now €900 million higher than it was in the previous scheme between 2016 and 2020. This is an increase in funding of 30% for Pillar 2. Deputy Canney will know better than me that it is sometimes the case that funding made available through the CAP or through the Government directly has conditions and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. The last thing I am concerned about is my schedule, whether it is busy or not. All that matters is how we as a Government can meet the needs being raised in the House by Deputy Doherty and others in a compassionate and fair way while also being conscious that the funding involved and the commitment from the Exchequer is very significant. The Ministers, Deputies Darragh...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Doherty-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Government and the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, are very much aware of the change we are seeing in community transmission and the level of Covid-19 incidence across our country. Of course, we take heart in the fact we are in a very different position from where we were a year ago due to the success of the vaccination programme...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this immensely important issue. I want to begin by acknowledging the extraordinary trauma, anxiety and stress that all those who have been afflicted by the awful change in the building blocks of their homes have confronted and endured. I have been aware of this issue because I worked as a member of the previous Government to bring forward the scheme, which...

Seanad: Finance (European Stability Mechanism and Single Resolution Fund) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I apologise to Members for keeping them waiting. I have just come from the Dáil, where I was taking Leaders' Questions, so I could not get here any quicker. I thank Senator Higgins for the substantive amendments she has tabled and the important matters she is raising regarding this legislation and its future operation. I thank her also for her acknowledgement of the importance of the...

Seanad: Finance (European Stability Mechanism and Single Resolution Fund) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: That may be so, but a safety net is only credible if it recognises that countries might not need it because their national finances are sound and resilient. How would a credit net be realistic or credible if a country in excellent economic condition, with very low debt, in surplus year to year and a growing economy with multiple sources of employment and income growth and no macroeconomic...

Seanad: Finance (European Stability Mechanism and Single Resolution Fund) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I have a principled objection to these amendments. I believe that the need that Senator Higgins refers to is better discharged through the normal functioning of the Oireachtas and the normal procedures of accountability between the Minister and the Oireachtas committee. As I indicated in my opening contribution, I do not believe that there should be further reporting requirements for a...

Seanad: Finance (European Stability Mechanism and Single Resolution Fund) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Senator spoke about how we can better understand the engagement between the European Commission and the European Stability Mechanism. When this treaty comes into force, a memorandum of co-operation between the ESM and the European Commission will be published. That will be publicly available on the websites of both the ESM and the European Commission to indicate to stakeholders how the...

Seanad: Finance (European Stability Mechanism and Single Resolution Fund) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: It is quite a literary horizon from Discworld to the entrepreneurial state to Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Terry Pratchett, may he rest in peace, wrote about much but I missed his book on European monetary union, if he wrote one. If he did, I am sure it is worth a read. On the views of Piketty and Mazzucato on the future of Europe and economic policy in relation to it, the degree...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fuel Prices (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 252 together. The price of petrol and diesel is determined by a number of factors including taxation, the price of the raw materials, the prevailing exchange rates as well as the fact the different wholesalers can enter into forward contracts at different rates for the purchase of oil. The price of fuel on the forecourt is set by the individual...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Exemptions (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides for certain properties to be exempt from LPT during the current valuation period (2013 to 2021) and the next valuation period (2022 to 2025) where they meet certain qualifying conditions. However, certain exemptions will expire on 31 December 2021 and as such will not be available for the new valuation period. These include...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Cross-Border Co-operation (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I can inform the Deputy that the Department of Finance has no record of funding allocated to cross-Border Project Ireland 2040 infrastructure projects in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Deputy will note that my response refers only to Department of Finance records and I cannot comment on behalf of other Departments.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Cross-Border Co-operation (4 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I can inform the Deputy that the Department of Finance has no record of spending on current cross-Border initiatives and has no commitments to funding goods or services related to cross-Border initiatives in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Deputy will note that my response refers only to Department of Finance records and I cannot comment on behalf of other Departments.