Results 2,681-2,700 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Price Inflation. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Question 76: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his Department's forecast for the level of inflation for 2007; the way this compares to the forecast he gave in his budget speech; his views on the level of inflation continuing to run at 5%; the measures he will take to deal with this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17474/07]

Price Inflation. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: What does the Minister have to say to families and people at work who are receiving very little in the way of wage increases? Their wage increases are, to use the Minister's term, heavily moderated through the social partnership process, but they are living in an economy with an inflation rate of 5%. For most workers and their families, the cost of living in Ireland, compared to most...

Price Inflation. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Can I ask a brief supplementary question?

Price Inflation. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: The Minister said that he, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment will meet with, I understand, IBEC, the trade unions and the rest of the social partners to discuss inflation. Is this a partnership Government? Are any of Fianna Fáil's partners in Government — the Progressive Democrats or the Green Party — invited along to meet the social partners,...

Price Inflation. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Can the Minister tell me whether the partners in the Government are excluded? He only mentioned Fianna Fáil Ministers who would be attending.

Price Inflation. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: So none of the partners will be attending. Are they hands-off on inflation?

Departmental Bodies. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Question 79: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the proposed membership and terms of reference of the planned commission on taxation in regard to the commitment contained in the programme for Government; when the commission will be appointed; when it is expected to report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17148/07]

Departmental Bodies. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: This proposal was made in some detail by the Labour Party. I am glad that, in the context of the formation of the new Government, the Taoiseach accepted, however reluctantly, that there should be a commission on taxation. I am aware that the Tánaiste has been an opponent of the idea of achieving tax justice, particularly for ordinary PAYE workers. He obviously had to bow to the exigencies...

Departmental Bodies. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: The Minister was also opposed to the reform of stamp duty and this fell into the same category.

Departmental Bodies. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Is the Minister implying, as with other studies carried out by his Department on taxation, that the majority of people on this commission will come from the tax avoidance industry, as opposed to people interested in tax justice for PAYE workers?

Departmental Bodies. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: To recall the Minister's history, in the last four Finance Bills the Labour Party tabled amendments proposing the establishment of a commission on taxation and on each occasion, to put it inelegantly, the Minister rubbished the proposal. He is a late and reluctant convert to the idea. This is welcome, however, provided it is a serious attempt to achieve tax justice.

Tax Code. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Is the intent behind the Minister's proposal to favour activities, services or goods that help reduce energy consumption or carbon emissions and, correspondingly, to punish or penalise those activities that result in excessive carbon pollution or are excessively inefficient from an energy perspective? What is the fundamental purpose of the proposed review of VAT? Perhaps the Minister might...

Tax Code. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Does the Minister for Finance have proposals regarding those suffering from fuel poverty, for example, the elderly, most of whom must use coal and other high-carbon fuels?

Tax Code. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Will the Minister take that into account?

Departmental Expenditure. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: In the context of the review, has the Minister been able to give guidance to the HSE on the distinction between capital expenditure and revenue and current expenditure? Embarrassingly, the Minister had to come to the House some years ago to correct errors in the HSE's capital budget. In recent days, we have again seen the HSE underspend its capital budget by €90 million only to deny it is...

Departmental Expenditure. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Is the Minister afraid to comment? Has the HSE got the figures wrong again?

Departmental Expenditure. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Sorry, I apologise.

Carbon Budget. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Will each Minister produce an account of his or her carbon footprint on an annual basis with regard to travel and other energy-using devices to which Ministers resort?

Carbon Budget. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: In many European parliaments Ministers keep an account of their carbon usage and it is reported. Governments purchase carbon offsets every time they take a long-distance hike and they invest in a tree somewhere. I invite the Minister to have an entire rain forest named after him——

Carbon Budget. (26 Jun 2007)

Joan Burton: Some Ministers in this Government have bigger carbon footprints than others. We know the Minister for Finance is unlikely to be one of them. It would be interesting to know what it is. Do the Minister's Green Party colleagues have him making a note of his carbon footprint on a weekly basis?