Results 14,621-14,640 of 35,893 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: On Tuesday, the Taoiseach disgracefully tried to shift the blame for his and the Government's failure to tackle the perpetual trolley crisis in hospitals by attacking our hard-working and diligent nurses and doctors. Not content with insulting tens of thousands of front-line workers once, yesterday, the Taoiseach doubled down on his remarks. The Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, who...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: It absolutely was.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: Let us call a spade a spade because doctors and nurses know what the Taoiseach was at. They know he was attacking them. They know he was trying to shift the blame for the lack of capacity and the lack of recruitment and retention policies the Tánaiste's Government has failed to deal with onto the front-line workers. It has not been lost on those nurses and doctors that when the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 142:In page 121, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:“Report on introducing betting duty rate 34.The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on introducing a 3 per cent rate of betting duty to be paid by the punter directly when placing a bet.”. Amendment No. 142 seeks a...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: Section 36 relates to car rental, and there is an issue with the sector that has been brought to the attention of a number of us and of which I am sure the Minister and his officials are well aware. Deputy McGrath's amendments, which cannot be moved, deal with some of those concerns as well. There is a concern from those in the sector that leases cars that this will have a detrimental...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I agree with the vast majority of what the Minister said. A tax relief introduced at a certain point in time should always be automatically reviewed within a short period, by which I do not mean 25 years. I welcome the Minister's approach of reviewing these reliefs and questioning whether they are still warranted. It is the appropriate approach to take. My concern is that this change was...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 149:In page 130, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:“Report on increasing floor of diesel rebate scheme 40. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report of increasing the floor at which the diesel rebate scheme becomes available for Hauliers.”. This amendment concerns the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: It is welcome that the Minister is open to reviewing the scheme. As I said, there are lot of things we may have to do, depending on the outcome of any Brexit deal. As I have argued, unless there is a complete reversal of the decision taken by the British people two years ago, there is no possible deal that will not have an impact on the haulage sector. In my wildest dreams I cannot...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome that the Minister did not make changes. In fairness to him, he tried very hard on the latter point but the rug was pulled from under him with the carbon tax by his partners in Government. That must be put on the record. I take the Minister at face value on equalisation in the Brexit context.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I mentioned the Minister's partners in Government.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: No, the other partners in Government.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: It is a minor matter. I welcome that there will be a review. We must examine the issue in a genuine and serious way, taking on board the fuel tourism issue. While there will be an uptick in drawdown because of the price of diesel, it will not be at the level it should be at because the practice is that when a haulier goes abroad, he or she fills up before coming back. They do this because...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I oppose the section. I have argued that the VAT rate should be restored for the hotel sector, and there is clear evidence for that. Nonetheless, there are differences throughout the regions and we do not have in some areas the same kind of occupancy and rates being charged in some of the urban areas. We need to formulate innovative ways to support the sector in this respect. Even the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: When this was introduced, when the tourism sector was on its knees and really needed a lift, the Government needed to do something that had an impact. The reduction from 13.5% down to 9% had that impact, it has worked, it was successful, and it was a good initiative. Fair play for introducing it at the time, notwithstanding how it was funded. When it is reversed, however, it has the other...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I did. I said fair play for introducing it.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: That is fair enough. The Minister should take it when it is given to him. The issue is, when it is reversed, the impact is the same. The question is whether the industry is robust enough to withstand that impact. Of course the hotel sector, where many of the beds are located, is robust enough because of all the metrics about which we have talked. The issue with the other sector is that...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I tabled an amendment to the Finance Bill last year which is similar to that of Deputy Boyd Barrett's seeking a report on the operation of section 110 companies. We both acknowledge the complexity of how that would operate and wanting to ensure that it was robust and doing what it was intended to do. At the conclusion of the discussion on Report Stage the Minister acknowledged that Revenue...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 162:In page 142, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following:"Report on income tax relief 60.The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on an income tax relief equivalent in value to one month's rent of an individual available to all renters not already in receipt of any State subsidy...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I have already dealt with the two arguments I took from the Minister's statement. This relates to a report. I am sure the Minister is aware of our full proposal, which is that rent relief would be introduced and there would be a rent freeze or cap at the same time. The argument that this would go directly into the pocket of landlords would not hold as rents could not increase over those...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 163:In page 142, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: "Report on new threshold for High Wealth Individuals 60. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the introduction of a new threshold for High Wealth Individuals defined as persons in possession of net assets of the value of...