Results 14,341-14,360 of 32,960 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, there is. We are looking at the different needs we may have in a disorderly Brexit scenario. It will be vital that budget 2020 is delivered in a way that is realistic and credible for our citizens and for financial markets. I will be able to do that.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will not have a second budget.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy referred to himself as a political observer but he is anything but that. He is a Deputy and a participant in our political process, as I am, and the difference he and I have versus the gentlemen he referred to a moment ago is that they are commenting on and analysing what is happening, which has a certain level of consequence. I have to make decisions, as does the Deputy, which...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will know in September what the actual intention of the leader of the Conservative Party is once he has taken over as Prime Minister. We may then have a clearer view of the likely reaction of the European Union to that.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To interject, an equal number of economists are commenting on the fact that we have been clear that we are going to do a single budget and that that is of value because if we enter into a situation of a disorderly Brexit happening over November and December, there is value for businesses in our country and for those on whom we may depend for support in the future being clear about what our...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Last year, we collected approximately €10 billion in corporation tax, rather than €14 billion or €15 billion. I do not believe the Deputy's suggestion - that all the funding that has been collected is windfall funding - represents a tenable assessment of the position. A lower amount was collected. While it is certainly possible in the coming period that not all of that...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: If a disorderly Brexit happens, it is possible that this country could be in a deficit position. I have outlined the figures for that. In such circumstances, a new capital project like the national broadband plan would be funded by part of the deficit as an additional commitment on top of our existing commitments. The context for the national broadband plan would change considerably in...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: We will have to include our own judgment on what is most likely to happen. In light of the potential for instability abroad, we thought it would be more important for us to be able to show stability at home as we plan our affairs.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: We will have general feedback from within our economy. Ultimately, it is a decision that will be made by the Government on the basis of what is most likely to happen. It will be political in nature. If the UK decides to leave the EU without an agreement, it will do so for its own reasons. My suspicion is that as we move through the year, and in particular as we move into September, the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Phrases like "countercyclical" are economic in nature.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As public representatives, the Deputy and I will be aware of the effect of such measures on people's lives.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Both of us understand that. We have indicated that across the early years of a disorderly Brexit, if such a Brexit happens, it is possible that the level of unemployment in our economy will increase by two points. We have also said that in such an eventuality, the number of people working in our economy will not change across that period - it will remain at a high level of between 2.1...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As we are having a discussion about the bad things that might happen in the jobs market, and the level of employment within the country, we should acknowledge that it is in the context of a very high level of employment in an economy that is performing very well. If we are approaching a shock like the one we may have to deal with, to have an economy that is growing quickly and growing in a...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: They may need training. The Deputy is right. During the period from 2013 to 2015, my colleagues in the Departments of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and Education and Skills showed that we have the ability to do that. While I will work to be in a position where we will minimise employment being shed in the first place - we believe we will still have an economy that will have more...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The most acute one in the short term is Brexit. In the medium term, it is what happens with growth within the eurozone and what happens in the debates that are due to happen on global tax and trade policies, but they are more medium term in nature. We have seen a lot of charged words regarding global trade, but we are still seeing economies, America in particular, that are growing and our...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: No. We have increased our capital profiling from 2021 onwards to deal with the cost of the national broadband plan. That has happened because the cost of that is known with a degree of clarity per year.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: That is built in. Regarding the national children's hospital, the 2020 cost of that is accounted for through the expenditure reserve that we have in place for 2020. The cost beyond that for 2021 and 2022 is not accounted for in a higher capital ceiling but in row D, box 5, there is a high level of unallocated funding for those two years which would then deal with the funding of the further...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes. The key area that we are working on is the development of a project on building information management or BIM. The aim is to develop a computer modelling of big projects that are due to be delivered in order to try to reduce the cost of the project when it is ready to be built. On page 35 of the summer economic statement we also outline other things that have been done in relation...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I do. This is why we are changing the growth outlook for our economy to indicate that over time it will grow at a rate between 2.5% and 3%, as opposed to the far higher rates of growth we have seen in the recent past. Growth rates between 2.5% and 3%, if sustained over time, would still have the ability to make a hugely positive impact on living standards within our economy and would be...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Summer Economic Statement: Minister for Finance (3 Jul 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In terms of the level of reduction of our-----