Results 14,321-14,340 of 32,960 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Yes, we take that into account but I think it will be a bigger issue in the coming years if the labour market continues at its current level. When I was speaking at the national economic dialogue last week, I made the point that as the labour market has a rate of unemployment of 4.4%, we will need to be increasingly conscious in the future, as we look to make policy decisions and invest...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: On the decision on whether we factor in the Christmas bonus for 2020, the Deputy will have to suspend his judgment until we announce budget 2020 on 8 October.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: In respect of his point about the Christmas bonus, for this year it will be handled in the way it has been handled for previous years. In respect of the point he made about tax reductions, the commitment that was made on tax reductions was for a number of years. As the summer economic statement indicates, in the context of an orderly Brexit, for the five-year period between 2020 and 2024,...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: We have not made a decision in respect of what is going to happen in December 2020 yet. That is the reason. The ongoing IFAC criticism, of which I am aware and which the Deputy has reiterated on a number of occasions, is that our level of current expenditure and projected growth is not credible or realistic. I have recognised that in the medium-term expenditure outlook by increasing the...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Why has Deputy Pearse Doherty reached that conclusion?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: If I am the Minister for Finance, or whomever it may be by then, in October 2020 I expect that there will be a Christmas bonus. The decision on that Christmas bonus has not yet been taken. I am focused now on decisions I will be making in October 2019 and not in October 2020. My track record in recent years has been to pay a Christmas bonus. That has been welcomed by those who receive it...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: No, it is not.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Out of our budget day package, we already have allocated €2.1 billion for expenditure increases.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: No, the Deputy did not.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Yes.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: From 2021 onwards we have moved from 2.5% to 3.25% of planned expenditure growth. For 2020, I have not announced an expenditure increase beyond that which is pre-committed because I have not made a decision regarding the allocation of the €700 million.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Pearse Doherty is wrong when he states that there is no increase for next year.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: That has not happened because we have not made a decision regarding the allocation of the €700 million. If I make a decision on budget day that the €700 million is going to be allocated to an expenditure increase and that there will be no change anywhere else, then that represents an expenditure increase on top of that to which we have already committed. The Deputy is trying...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: The role of the summer economic statement is to state what level of resources is available, on which we then make a decision. If I was coming in here with a medium-term current expenditure forecast of 2.5%, Deputy Pearse Doherty would, justifiably, criticise me on the back of not responding to what the IFAC have done. I have changed that.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: No, I have not done that for this year and I have explained why.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is asking a question that can only be answered on budget day when we make a decision regarding the allocation of the €700 million.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: What we have done is increase our expenditure outlook for the coming year in current spending, as detailed a moment ago. We also increased the outlook in capital expenditure to deal with the cost of the national broadband plan as I indicated in my summer economic statement.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: I am happy to return to that topic in the course of the session. As I have already indicated, however, we have increased our current and our capital provisioning for the medium term.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Dealing with the VAT question first, I am confident that our VAT target will be delivered across the full year. One of the reasons for that is that retail sales at the moment are up approximately 4% versus a year ago. Given the strong performance in the retail sector and a continued increase in the number of tourists visiting Ireland, it is very likely that we will deliver our figure for...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Well-----