Results 23,861-23,880 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: Not explicitly. As Deputy McGrath said, the numbers on which the budget is being constructed have been locked in for some time. A variation of €58 million is significant because that €58 million is a significant sum of money. In the context of a budget that is €57 billion, it is within the normal movements around it.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: I think there is general agreement that the lack of supply in the private housing market is a major economic and social issue. Any measures that would increase supply without having adverse consequences elsewhere in the economy are to be welcomed. It is an open secret that we are working on a proposal to assist couples to buy their own homes. The details of it are still being worked on and...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: Supply and demand are inextricably linked. I think the Deputy has an iPhone. Until the iPhone was invented, there was no demand for iPhones. It was the supply that caused the demand - the fact that it was produced. If we assist purchasers to acquire their first home, the market will respond and the demand expressed in cash terms by many young couples will drive supply. The two are tied...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: With respect, the Deputy is pre-empting the budget debate and I am not prepared to have a budget debate here. I have signalled that there will be measures in the budget that will be debated.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for his support for the Government’s approach to the reductions in the USC.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: We might have a vacancy in the Government shortly. The Deputy might give me his phone number.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: We are in the same space in believing USC should be reduced progressively in so far as it applies to people on low and middle incomes. If one examines the Fine Gael election manifesto, one will note it was never the intention to abolish the USC for those on high incomes. There was a proposal to reduce it but it was to be replaced by another tax. It might not be called the USC but would...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: In light of Brexit, I do not think we will be selling AIB or any tranche of shares in it for the remainder of this year in any event. However, I am leaving the possibility open for 2017. What will be done with the receipts? Some time ago - in 2012 or 2013 - the Government decided that moneys that would come from the sale of bank shares would be used to reduce the debt. The reason for this...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: Certainly a case could be made. Of course, any such large sum of money that would come in would be governed by fiscal rules. There is a key distinction in modern budgets. The money we have that we can spend is one thing, but we also have to take into account what we can spend under the fiscal rules.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: It is possible to expand the fiscal space by increasing taxes and if this committee recommends increasing taxes, obviously we will consider the recommendation.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: It is possible to increase taxes in any budget, which has the effect of increasing the fiscal space. Spending the yield from the increased taxes is always an option. However, the decision is whether that is economically prudent or good management of the economy. I happen to think that there is no problem in coming up with new taxes, but we have enough of them. The tax burden is a fairly...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: I do not particularly want to get into an argument with the Deputy. All I am saying is that he is taking up a valid position to the effect that we should increase taxes, which would give us increased fiscal space and we would spend more. That is a valid position; it is just that I disagree with the Deputy's standpoint.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: No, but I would not think we were fatalistic or dismal. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, will appear before the committee tomorrow. With a combination of what is available to him, approximately €860 million, and what is already built into the base for demographics and for the Lansdowne Road agreement, there is another €860 million or so....

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: If the economy continues to grow, there will be more next year and in subsequent years.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: We have disagreed with it. A group of colleagues adopted a special provision under the procedures in Europe to advance the financial transactions tax. Under that provision, a group of nine countries can come together. It is going nowhere. There is no agreement in respect of the proposal; and even its advocates cannot agree. The best they have come up with is to move forward with...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: No, we are not. We do not disagree with a financial transactions tax in principle, but we want it on an international basis or, at a minimum, on a trans-European basis. If we introduce a financial transactions tax on financial activities in Dublin and the people in the City of London refuse to introduce such a tax, activity will move from Dublin to London; at least that would have been the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: There is a debate and this is proposed by many European countries. If we harmonise the methodology, it could get a result. I do not think anything will happen in time to change the parameters of the 2017 budget, but I would be hopeful for 2018. There are many views now about how structural deficits should be calculated. There is an emerging opinion that if we just dealt with nominal...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: I think I gave it in my speech. I think we are just under €500 million ahead at the moment and at the end of the year will be nearly €1 billion ahead if things continue as they are now. It is back to the distinction between having money and having the capacity to spend it. The fact that it runs through does not change the fiscal space. The expenditure benchmark is in place...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: Some. If we end the year with €300 million beyond what was forecast having met all our expenditure commitments, that €300 million will come off the deficit and so we will have a lower deficit at the end. That is how it will run into the account at the end of the year.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Revenue Raising Proposals: Minister for Finance and Revenue Commissioners (20 Sep 2016)

Michael Noonan: First, when the housing policy document was produced in July, I asked the people in the Department with responsibility for the environment not to reveal any details of a help-to-buy scheme because it would interfere with the market. If the Deputy was one of the partners in the case of a young couple thinking of buying a house and if the prospect of getting a big chunk of money was held out...