Results 861-880 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: Section 7 provides, notwithstanding anything contained in the Air Companies Acts, that the company may issue shares in accordance with the Companies Acts as part of one or more employee shareholding schemes.

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: Perhaps that would be best.

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: May I raise a point of order? As there are no amendments there can be no Report Stage. Is it not possible for us to take the remaining Stages now?

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: There is obviously consensus in the House on this matter. It is agreed that the workers concerned contributed towards the restructuring of the company. Had the Minister had his way at an earlier stage, the company would long since have been disposed of and they would have been party to the employee share ownership plan, ESOP, arrangement. My understanding is that the Bill does not exclude the...

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: If I understood him correctly, he said he did not have a controlling interest. When last I checked, Senator Dooley was a member of Fianna Fáil.

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: To the best of my knowledge, the Minster for Transport, Deputy Brennan, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, are also members of that party. Is Deputy McCreevy in a different Fianna Fáil to Senator Dooley? I understood it was all one big, united outfit.

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: Perhaps the Senator should tell that to the approximately 100 workers who will be obliged, one way or another, to take redundancy, and to the customers of the company in the County Clare region who will find it more difficult to use the services when the programme of change goes through. It is quite remarkable how Fianna Fáil can dissect itself in this way and wear different hats in...

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: Maybe so. However, there is consensus on the substantive issue of this section and it is useful that the matter has been clarified.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: Does that mean that it is clawed back?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: Is the money stopped, or is it clawed back? Will the tax that was not paid be recovered?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: There is some merit in what Senator Browne is saying. The principle is well established in the tax code that a tax credit which derives from a particular income or activity can, nonetheless, be set against income arising from a different activity. By any stretch of the imagination, therefore, it would not be a new principle to establish such a relief. The Minister raised the matter of GAA...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: Many Dublin GAA fans lament the passing of Hill 16 but they are delighted that the planning authority has decided to allow it to be reconstructed as a terrace. I would be interested to know if there has been a specific proposal from the GAA to fund Hill 16, whether the Minister is considering this and whether he is favourably disposed towards it.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: But the capital allowances are not.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: What about Hill 16?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: Would the Minister be well disposed towards such an application?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: I wholeheartedly agree with Senator Browne on this recommendation, which I support strongly. There is nothing in the tax code which more disturbs and annoys ordinary taxpayers than what they see as an abuse of the residency rules. People who are manifestly Irish and who made their fortunes in the first instance in Ireland now live abroad purely for tax purposes. In essence, they are tax...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: It makes perfect sense that we should encourage people — particularly men, as Dr. Henry knows because of her profession — to undergo medical examination regularly. Such examinations are provided by larger companies in particular. That is useful, and should not be subject to benefit in kind. I am interested in the Minister's reflections on how this provision is working out. Most of us...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: This is a somewhat tortuous area that has caused difficulties over a number of years. The Minister will be aware that the main unions involved in the construction industry have made representations over time as to how the RCT system works. The Revenue Commissioners undertook a significant survey on how it was working and were looking to track down abuses and stamp them out. I presume that the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: I am surprised that there is not already some register of principal contractors in place, simply on an administrative basis.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2004 [[i]Certified Money Bill[/i]]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (24 Mar 2004)

Derek McDowell: I am at a loss to understand the alterations proposed in this section that deals with nursing homes. It reduces the qualifying number of residential units from 20 to ten.