Results 15,341-15,360 of 32,961 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service Staff Data (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The details requested by the Deputy are outlined in the following tables. Department of Public Expenditure and Reform 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 Female Male Total Female Male Total Secretary General 0 1 1 0 1 1 Assistant Secretary Level * 3 6 9 4 6 10 Principal Officer 15 17 32 14 18 32 Assistant Principal 45 55 100 52 63 115 Higher Executive Officer 37 42 79 50 40 90...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Chairman. Given that I have appeared before various members of the committee on a few occasions this week, and given that I forwarded my statement to the committee earlier in the week, I propose highlighting three or four points and then letting the committee quiz me on the document. I could spend 20 minutes reading the statement aloud but colleagues may have read it. If not, I...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, I do. I debated the points raised by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, particularly on unplanned expenditure in health in the second half of last year, with Deputy McGrath's colleague, Deputy Cowen, earlier today. While expenditure growth is now far lower than it was during the pre-crisis period, I take the point that in-year expenditure growth, particularly in health, as it has...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with the Deputy on the first quarter. I would not draw any conclusion on corporation tax for the first quarter and the key indicator for the year will be May. Nevertheless, the chief economist in the Department of Finance, John McCarthy, and I have been looking at this issue to see if we can form a view on the sustainability of corporation tax. We hope, as we approach the summer...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not concerned at the moment but it is something on which I must keep a close eye. We are seeing inflationary pressures develop in some parts of the economy, particularly in large construction projects. The reason I am not concerned at the moment is that capital expenditure is slightly below profile in the year to date. It might be the case that some projects-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is right that it increases later the year. However, there is a "but", namely, that these capital expenditure figures and ceilings were set well over a year ago when we did Project Ireland 2040. As the Deputy knows, we are normally far below profile at the start of the year and we end up being above profile at the end of the year. That has been the case for capital spending since...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: These are not negotiations. There are other things we are involved in that are negotiations but this is not one. This is all about doing an early draft of figures, sharing that draft with us and then the Commission completing its work. It is not a negotiation in the way that policy matters are negotiated. As to whether there will be a consequence, that is a matter for the Commission. It...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Commission is asking us questions about the economy and we are giving it numbers in respect of it. It would not be helpful for me to try to speculate on how the process might conclude.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Michael McGrath raised this matter with me towards the end of last year. I indicated that when I did the summer economic statement, which we will deal with some months from now, I would provide a five-year framework setting out how we think the economy will perform. That is what I will do. The so-called fiscal space is replete with potential for errors and misunderstandings....

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The projections are lower than what the figures will be. The figure of 1.5% the Deputy cited takes account of demographics, pre-existing commitments and so on. There is a view that it should be assumed that budgetary decisions that normally happen will continue into the future. I take a different view. If that is the path we go down, we will get to a point where a Minister for Finance in...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Health expenditure for January, February and March was on profile. It was what the Department indicated it would be. It is the case, as the Deputy well knows, that for every other year, we have had Supplementary Estimates in the Department of Health. Last year, the Supplementary Estimate was far higher than previously. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and I have spoken about this....

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I was simply saying that for now, I cannot give the committee an assessment of where our capital ceilings might be for next year, beyond saying that we have a capital expenditure increase of approximately 10% or 11% already baked in for next year. We already have that provisioned in our figures for next year. All I was suggesting was that it is entirely possible that it might take some...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The first thing I want to do is to collect this surplus. My first objective is to make sure it is delivered. What I want to do with it is grow it into next year. We will deal with this in more detail in the summer economic statement but a fair chunk of the surplus of 0.2% is coming through what we think might happen with corporation tax during the year. Our economy should be in a...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: It is difficult for us to give a view of the economic effects of climate change on our economy. However, on page 49 of our document we have called out climate change and our renewable energy targets as representing a high risk for the economy in the medium term. The Department and I decided that we would call this out as being a risk in a way that we have not done in the past. It is...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Heydon raises a very topical issue. At the most recent informal finance Ministers' meeting we had in Romania, this was a subject for discussion. As the Deputy has said, the European Commission has indicated again that it will publish proposals to remove the principle of unanimity from taxation decision making in the future. It is apparent to me that for all kinds of different...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: This is something on which we will have to engage with the European Commission. There is a requirement to have our budgets in at a particular point in the semester. I am not saying that I have made a decision on it but the value of Irish budgets in recent years has been that we have been able to indicate certainty regarding where we stand. The Deputies have raised issues regarding...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: For my what, sorry?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Thank you.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: This Dáil and Government have acted with more urgency than we sometimes get credit for, particularly when it comes to tax policy. It is to the credit of Deputy Boyd Barrett and Deputy Lahart and his party that they have been willing to support measures like that. In the period that led up to the crash decisions that narrowed the tax base were never reversed when times were good. We...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform (18 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: They are both happening.