Results 9,721-9,740 of 12,388 for speaker:Paul Murphy

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: The Taoiseach took the argument of the Government about how the phrase "middle income" or "middle class" is used to a ridiculous point when he defined minimum wage workers as being middle class or middle-income earners.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: The Minister said that 224,000 are paying the top rate.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: Can the Minister break that down further to indicate the percentage of income earners earning between €20,000 and €50,000?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: People earning €70,000 are not the kinds of people we are seeking to have pay more tax. Under our proposals they would not pay any USC. They are relatively high-income earners, but they are not the kind of super rich at whom our policies are aimed. It is not statistically accurate to suggest that people on those relatively high incomes are middle-income earners. Approximately two...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: That is not at all the case when combined with transforming society along the lines of our proposals, which entail scrapping the USC and replacing it with a high-income social charge on those earning more than €90,000 and new tax bands going upwards. The point is that the language around middle-income earners is designed to shroud the reality behind a curtain. Much has been made of...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: The Government often likes to make much of the fact that Ireland has a progressive income tax system. I think the argument is that it is one of the most progressive income tax systems in Europe. Obviously, that misses something, which is that the Government is shifting away from income - direct - taxation towards indirect taxation, which is inherently far more regressive. Considering the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: Let us consider the change that is taking place. We can all pick examples from the tables to suit our arguments. Let us consider a single-income earner on €25,000 which is probably not far off the median earnings in the State. It may be €2,000, €3,000 or €4,000 off the median earnings. It is not far from representing a middle-income earner in the State. Such...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: To be clear, the Minister does not accept it is a regressive change in the taxation system in relation to the comparison between a €25,000 income earner and a €75,000 income earner, when the €25,000 income earner has a net income change of 0.3% and the €75,000 income earner has a net income change of 0.7%. The Minister does not accept that this is regressive.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: I move amendment No. 1:In page 8, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following:"3. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, bring a report on the cost and implications of abolishing the Universal Social Charge for everyone earning less than €90,000 per annum.". If we could move an amendment to simply abolish the USC for everyone earning less than...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: That is a different report. It is fair enough that the Minister agrees to that different report but he does not agree to this one. The wording is not entirely clear and there was some confusion when we were submitting parliamentary questions in advance of the budget. We were talking about the USC, renamed effectively as a high income social charge applying to marginal income exceeding...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: Section 6 deals with mortgage interest relief. During all of the discussion on the tracker mortgages, what struck me is how the Revenue would deal with redress payments by the banks. Can it be agreed that the Revenue Commissioners will not pursue people who effectively get the benefit of mortgage interest relief when they are paid compensation at a later stage and will not attempt to claw...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: I welcome the section. It is fine. I am for promoting electric cars. However, if there is any idea in the Department or the Government that the answer to reducing the amount of greenhouse gases produced by the transport sector is electric cars, then it is missing the point. Transport is the second biggest producer of greenhouse gases in Ireland. The way to reduce greenhouse emissions by...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: Since 2008.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: The figures I have state that across the three branches of CIE, Government subvention is down €67 million from 2008.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: Can the Minister explain the figures? Or give me the figures that he has?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: I checked the figures and I think the €67 million figure was incorrect. It was meant to be 67% and that has been rounded up on the other thing. However, the figures that repeatedly come across in various discussions in the Dáil, both in the committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport and in the Dáil as a whole, refer to a total subvention to the CIE group of €321...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: I move amendment No. 6:In page 13, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following:“10. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, bring a report on the additional revenue that could be raised by introducing new tax bands for earnings over €100,000 as follows:(a) Earnings between €100,000 and €140,000 - 50 per cent; (b) Earnings between...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: The Government likes to focus on marginal rates of tax, but the key issue for workers, be they low, middle or high-income earners, is the effective rate of tax on an overall basis. If this amendment were combined with our proposal to abolish the USC on income under €90,000, the effective rate of tax paid by even relatively high earners would still be approximately 50% or lower as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: 350. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the process of site acquisition for a school (details supplied); when the process will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46199/17]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (7 Nov 2017)

Paul Murphy: 351. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the process of site acquisition for a school (details supplied); if the planning permission process can begin before the site acquisition is completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46200/17]