Results 2,081-2,100 of 35,959 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Bhí ar m'athair agus mo mháthair an tír seo a fhágáil agus imeacht go hAlbain, an áit ina rugadh mé fhéin, mo dheartháireacha agus mo dheirfiúracha. Bhí an t-ádh linn go raibh deis againn teacht abhaile go hÉirinn i ndiaidh 20 bliain thar lear. Ní raibh an deis chéanna ag go leor daoine eile. Níor éirigh go maith le go leor daoine nuair a d'fhág siad an tír seo. D'obair...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Enterprise Ireland's budget was cut and the Government went after disposable income. Today the VAT rate and fuel prices have been raised. Taoiseach, you are actively trying to cut jobs.

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: The 2% hike in VAT will see more businesses put under strain from diminishing consumer spending and more of them will go to the wall. The vicious cycle began by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party of relying on indirect taxation is being continued under the watch of the Government. Not only will this measure be tough for business and jobs, it will disproportionately affect lower income earners...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: One cannot squeeze any more blood from the stone; it is dry. The VAT rate rise announced today is a mistake. The Minister knows this because it is the argument he made in opposition. This is not to mention the impact the VAT rate rise will have on already struggling Border towns, including in my home county of Donegal. Increasing VAT in the hope it will generate enough cash to reduce the...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: The Government's attacks on education will do little to help the knowledge economy. The State cannot come out of the crisis without the tools to do so. These tools include a well trained and well educated workforce. By making education the preserve of the elite and allowing an opportunity only for those who can afford it, the Government is not ensuring a workforce for the future. This is...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: It is also abolishing maintenance grants for postgraduate students. The Government is pulling down the shutters on the futures of thousands of young men and women not lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family. In this day and age, in a First World country, I do not know how anyone can stand over this. This is a mantra that is meant to distract people while the Government is holding...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: The Taoiseach talks about jobs. I got a message from someone in my own constituency who said he was closing up and jobs would be lost because of upward-only rent reviews. The Taoiseach will probably say that there is nothing he can do about it, but does he know that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is applying the upward-only rent review? That Department is putting that...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: That is something the Taoiseach can deal with straight away, here and now. There are 100,000 families in serious mortgage distress, but where is the fairness for them in this budget? Almost 70 families are falling into serious mortgage distress every single day. While repossession rates have been low in comparison with other countries, that will not last forever. Some 1,048 families have...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Nobody believes the Taoiseach; not the public, the markets nor this House. I urge the Taoiseach to bring the Opposition parties into Government Buildings to discuss this issue, in confidence if required.

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: The Government must urgently reassure the public that it is taking this crisis seriously and preparing for all scenarios. The events unfolding in Europe are frightening people. Agreements are being reached between powerful EU member states and Ireland is not even represented at the table. Last week the Taoiseach said clearly he was against further treaty change but this morning, the...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Does it support ruling out any private sector involvement in burden sharing in dealing with the currency crisis? I ask these questions because these are the key elements of the proposals that Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel will bring to the EU crisis summit on Friday. These are the demands they will be making. More importantly, these are proposals that will consign this State and its...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: There were choices to be made this week and my party's pre-budget submission set them out. Our submission chose not to go after ordinary families but to invest in growth and jobs. It chose to cut the high earners in the public sector and tax those who could afford it. The Government claims it could not have implemented such choices but that is untrue. Members of my party have met...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: With this budget the Taoiseach and his Government are exposed. The Irish people sat in judgment of Fianna Fáil and I promise the Taoiseach they will judge Fine Gael and Labour the same way.

Financial Resolution No. 1: (Tobacco Products Tax) (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: The Taoiseach mentioned that the increase was due to health concerns. Perhaps he will clarify when those concerns were adopted by both Government parties. I do not have their pre-election programmes before me and I do no know whether they entered into this commitment during the election. It is a revenue-raising measure. While their are health grounds for the increase, it is not one of the...

Financial Resolution No. 1: (Tobacco Products Tax) (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: It has to do with the increase.

Financial Resolution No. 1: (Tobacco Products Tax) (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: I will give the Ceann Comhairle a commitment.

Financial Resolution No. 1: (Tobacco Products Tax) (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: I will be brief. I have nearly concluded. Of the €5 billion lost, much owes to the illegal importation and black market sale of cigarettes. The Government has not tackled this issue despite this measure to raise revenue and protect health. People are buying cigarettes on Dublin's streets and in towns and villages at half the price charged by retailers. Even a small proportion of the...

Written Answers — House Repossessions: House Repossessions (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Question 17: To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 53 of 24 November 2011, the number of legal cases taken by each of the banks named for each of the years detailed; the number of repossessions sought and secured by each bank in each respective year; the number of repossessions of domestic properties by bank and by year; and if he will make a statement on the...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (6 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: Question 56: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 41 of 26 October 2011, the reason County Donegal Vocational Education Committee use mapping services to calculate distances using back roads when there is clearly no bus route available to students; his views that this is justifiable and the legislation that outlines these measures. [38328/11]

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2011)

Pearse Doherty: This week the Tánaiste's Government and party delivered a devastating budget which has hit the poorest hardest. Once again, we are seeing a Government that is protecting the high earners. We have seen how the Government looks after its own, with party hacks being appointed as special advisers in high positions. Pay caps are being breached because the Tánaiste tells us that these people...