Results 21,641-21,660 of 36,764 for speaker:Enda Kenny

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Appointments to State Boards (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: This is a small country and most people have a political record of one description or another. That does not mean it should be the only criterion that should apply to appointments to boards. Under previous administrations there was no process at all for public involvement in board appointments. Before this Government took up office, in the last few days of that regime, a couple of hundred...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Appointments to State Boards (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: The Deputy is aware that annual reports are produced by the boards in respect of the work programmes they follow. I engage with Ministers on a regular basis and in preparation for the Estimates for every budget. I talk to each individual Minister about his or her departmental responsibilities and also about the boards that are related to each Department and under each Minister's aegis. At...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Appointments to State Boards (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: I thank Deputy Adams who, along with Deputy Ó Fearghaíl, has been generous enough to acknowledge that would-be chairpersons come before Oireachtas committees. That is important. The only board under the direct responsibility of the Department of the Taoiseach is NESC, which has 14 members on the board, four of whom are women. Most members are nominated by the individual...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 3 to 16, inclusive, together. On 29 April, in the course of a visit to Spain, I had a bilateral meeting with the German Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble. We discussed a range of major EU and Presidency agenda items including the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework, MFF; progress on banking union; the growth and jobs agenda,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: Deputy Ó Fearghaíl asked some good questions. It is completely unacceptable that 28 million people are unemployed in the European Union. No leader can be happy with that situation. Depending on competitiveness and whether budgets are under control, the position as regards unemployment and employment will vary between countries. I visited Spain and Portugal recently. The rate of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: The discussion which took place at the European Council was constructive and positive in the sense of reflecting an understanding that the world has changed utterly in the way multinational companies do business in different jurisdictions. From our perspective, I stated before I entered the meeting that if the matter arose, I would deal with any issues of transparency or accountability in...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: Our treatment of residence of companies for tax purposes, as determined by the location of management and control, was settled long before it could have any relevance to current international structures. The structures described have been arranged by US-owned groups of companies in order to take advantage of specific aspects of US tax law and also the differences between the Irish and US...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: It is proof of the level of footballing skills in Ruislip.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: Deputy Adams raised a number of interesting points. Of course, youth unemployment is a scourge. Clearly, that is why the European Council, for the first time ever, put €6 billion into the multi-annual financial framework, MFF. That is spread out from 2014 to 2020, which is of no value to somebody who is 16 or 17 years of age and facing unemployment in any country, be it our own,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: -----means difficulties in terms of extra costs, feedstuffs and all the rest of it.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: I thank Deputy Healy-Rae. I have been-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: -----down in his native county and I have seen them lying in some places contentedly in the fields. We want to see more of that.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: The Deputy is wrong. First of all, Ireland's corporate tax rate was not put to me in the European Council. As I told Deputy Higgins, before I went into the meeting I said that I would be very happy to explain anything to do with Ireland's corporate tax rate were the matter to be raised. It was not raised in the context of the discussion that took place on tax, on tax evasion and on VAT....

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: The substantial number of workers in multinational companies in every constituency around the country are a testament to that. Deputy Boyd Barrett made the point that our corporate tax rate is a nod and a wink. It is a disgraceful comment from him.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: Our corporate tax rate has been in situ for many years.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: It is transparent and absolutely above board. It is set out in statute law but Deputy Boyd Barrett does not seem to want either to adhere or to understand it. The effective tax rate is 11.8%.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: The corporate rate is 12.5%. It is 25% on non-trading areas. That has been a fundamental issue for us. As I said in response to previous questions, it is the international environment of other jurisdictions where multinational companies can apply. The report of the Senate hearings in the US referred specifically to US tax law and states that the US Government is in a position to close off...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: For our part, the Minister for Finance has cleared a letter to be sent through the diplomatic service of our ambassador in Washington for transmission to the chairman of the Senate dealing with the inaccuracies that have been reported-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: -----and the allegations that this country is a tax haven and setting the record straight.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): EU Presidency Engagements (28 May 2013)

Enda Kenny: From that point of view we are very proud of and very clear on how we deal with our corporate tax rate. Ireland will participate in working with our colleague countries both in the United States, where we have signed up to the FATCA agreement, and in respect of our European Union colleagues for the development of an international code that will bring transparency to the environment outside...