Results 17,681-17,700 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: That is the first point.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The second point is that a number of Opposition Deputies said the role of Parliament is to scrutinise legislation to make it better. The way to do this is on Committee Stage by way of amendment. We all know that, but as Deputy Ryan has pointed out, we have spent an hour on Second Stage speeches again and there is no scrutiny by the Opposition of the detail of the amendments, with some...

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Doherty made a Second Stage speech.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Michael McGrath is always constructive. He raised an issue he had raised previously of having a second test to decide who should pay property tax. The Government decided that when the Bill is enacted the tax will be paid on the market value of the family home on the basis of self-assessment. Those that have an inability to pay may defer. The details of criteria relating to...

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: But the answer will be the same. Deputy Joe Higgins gave a speech that could be described only as an incitement to break the law. He encouraged people to break the law and to mobilise in their thousands to do so. If that is what Deputy Higgins suggests, that is fine but I was not elected to the House to break the law. We are law makers not law breakers.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I do not think any Deputy in this House should incite the public to break the law. Deputy Pearse Doherty made no such incitement. He presented his protest in a fair and reasonable manner. He is absolutely opposed to the Bill but he suggested that the opposition to it should be legal. That is a fair point of view. He also personalised the payment of the tax by suggesting that the...

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Boyd Barrett made another Second Stage speech. He has gone through all the issues he raised previously but he did not add anything further. Deputy Joan Collins acknowledged that we had made progress on local authority houses. I repeat that all tenants of local authority houses and tenants of houses rented by voluntary organisations, analogous to local authority tenants, will pay a...

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: All right. Deputy Stephen Donnelly referred to the inadequate debate. I have dealt with the issue. He also referred to the Taoiseach saying that gardens would not be liable for the tax. A garden in Mayo is different from a garden in Dublin. When one talks about a garden in the countryside one is not necessarily talking about the bit near the house. The definition is in accordance with...

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Donnelly's other objection was to the fact that this is not a local property tax. The bulk of the yield will be applied to local services. I accept there is differentiation between house values in expensive parts of Dublin and other parts of the country but there is a differential also between houses in many parts of Limerick, Cork and Galway as well and in other parts of the...

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The answer relates to the location of the house and the level of services and amenities enjoyed. The level of services and amenities is by and large provided by the taxpayer. Obviously if one is on a Luas line one is better off than someone who is down the country who is dependent on a bus service that operates only three days a week.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: We have dealt with local authority houses in the context of Deputy Joan Collins's contribution. Whether a local authority house is in Dublin or down the country it will be in the lower tax rate.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: One will pay €45 this year and €90 in a full year and that will be maintained. Apart from values being in accordance with local services, and services being applied at a local level, the bulk of the yield-----

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: There is a big subsidy to CIE.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The bulk of the yield will be spent by the local authorities in whose functional area the tax is gathered. As well as that, from 2015, discretion will be vested in the elected members of local authorities to vary the tax up or down. I envisage a situation that in areas where there is a high property tax it will be an election issue when candidates go knocking on doors to reduce the tax and...

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: As Deputies in the Opposition are free to use the time available as they see fit as long as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle deems it to be in order, I have no objection to how people use that time. I will address the first suggestion that, since time is being restricted, there is insufficient time to debate the Bill. The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 was passed by the Dáil and the...

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Deputies have spent another half hour making Second Stage speeches and yet they are objecting to how we are taking Committee Stage.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is another series of Second Stage speeches.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Committee Stage is to improve legislation.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have listened to the Deputies.

Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Everything in the Bill arises because I was listening to the Deputies and we had that debate before Christmas. Every amendment is to ease the situation as suggested by Deputies.