Results 2,841-2,860 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy Mathews for his kind words. On the write-down of government debt, if he can give me any example of a country that pursued-----

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I will come back to Greece. Can the Deputy give me an example of a country that pursued a write-down of its debt, either through a multilateral or unilateral action, that then resulted in its having a lower interest rate on its short- to medium-term borrowing? He referred to Greece. Greece has been through the largest debt write-down in the history of economics. Has he seen any reduction...

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: These are just the figures. The challenge for our State is that we need to borrow to close the gap between what is taken in taxes and what is spent on public services. The Government has decided that increasing the term of the promissory notes payments, doing what we can to support our banking system and closing the gap between spending and taxation will bring us to a point at which it will...

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: We are well aware of the need to negotiate. If Deputy Mathews is calling on the Government to negotiate, which it is doing, there is also an obligation on him to be consistent. Do those who advocate unilateral action believe we could maintain the lower rate of interest on government borrowing that we have successfully achieved?

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Mathews must bear in mind that less than two years ago, as he knows, it would have cost the State 15% to borrow on the financial markets.

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Our borrowing rates are now less than 4%. Deputy Mathews knows we have secured a larger reduction in our rate of interest on the financial markets than many of the countries he has mentioned. They are just the figures.

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: It will be up to people to see if that prediction is correct. I will reiterate that we have secured a rate of interest on our borrowing over the last year. It has happened. It is objectively correct. The State has been able to borrow at a fraction of the rate that applied two years ago. What the Deputy and others who are advocating unilateral action need to answer is how that low rate of...

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy asked whether I had read the books of Joseph Stiglitz. I actually have read his books. I read his books on globalisation, most notably one of his more recent books, Globalization and Its Discontents.

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I look forward to getting the opportunity to read it.

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Mathews is correct that the debt to national income ratio measurement was used by the Minister for Finance in the budget. However, he should acknowledge the predictions we have in place to see that debt to national income ratio fall. That is why the Government has a target next year for a primary budget surplus - so we can decrease the debt to national income ratio. This will allow...

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Crowe asked me about the attitudes of other countries. I am happy to outline the views of other countries with regard to the priorities we are talking about. Unfortunately, time will not allow me to do it today, but certainly in my appearances at the Oireachtas committees I am happy to outline as far as I can the areas of disagreement that other countries might have with us and what...

European Council: Statements (6 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: What strikes me is Deputy Martin's claim that we do not outline what the Irish interest is, while the Deputy says we do. In the pre-Council discussions that we have here we say what we want to achieve, and in Dáil debates such as this we then say where we stand on it. If there is an opportunity to go into that in more detail at a committee meeting, I would be more than happy to. We...

EU-IMF Programme: Statements (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is wrong. His facts are wrong.

EU-IMF Programme: Statements (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I cannot believe Deputy Martin is saying that.

EU-IMF Programme: Statements (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is laughing himself as he says that.

EU-IMF Programme: Statements (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: What woods?

EU-IMF Programme: Statements (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: That is not borrowed. That is a cash reserve.

EU-IMF Programme: Statements (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: We had it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs and External Relations Council: Discussion with Minister of State (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to address the joint committee. I am delighted to be here and I always value the opportunity to brief the committee ahead of any of my attendance at the General Affairs Council. I will give the committee a report on events since the last meeting. I will also refer to questions from colleagues at the previous meeting. I will give an update on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs and External Relations Council: Discussion with Minister of State (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Before you move on, Chairman, could I make sure that I have a full list of the questions you raised so that I can do justice to them? The list includes enlargement, the European semester, the role of committees within that context, social indicators, the application of subsidiarity and the December European Council with reference to contracts for competitiveness.