Results 2,841-2,860 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: I am outlining the purpose of the amendment. I am also outlining that we cannot have legislation which is completely prescriptive as to every possibility. There is a great difference between renting out the Aviva Stadium and renting out the local GAA club in a town in Meath.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: There is a distinction. As I said, guidelines will be published by the Valuation Office which will flesh this out.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: I am giving the Senator a commitment that it will be done.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: Guidelines will be published by the Valuation Office.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: It is quite difficult to explain when the Senator keeps interrupting me. I am happy to be challenged-----

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: I will also be happy to tease out the issues on Report Stage. This Bill is an honest attempt to improve the situation. The Senator is quite correct that it is not abolishing all rates for all sports clubs. Commercial activity will still be rateable, but Senator Byrne will have to agree that it will improve the current situation. It will lessen the rates bill. Under current law, if there...

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: I am one of those too.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: Before there is widespread panic, let us be very clear. The purpose of the amendment is to reduce the rate bills for sports clubs. One can argue that the system needs to be tightened and suggest how that should be done. I am happy to engage on those points between now and Report Stage and consider any amendments which would ensure that what we are trying to do is achieved. I am more than...

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: Clubs with licences are being charged rates on their entire operation.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: That is not fair and is what we are trying to address. We are not trying to introduce new charges on sports clubs. I have legal advice on the amendment I proposed. I outlined the guidelines and my openness to further engagement on this between now and Report Stage. The amendment is an honest effort to improve the lot of sports clubs. If we have to go further between now and Report Stage...

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: It refers to commercial activity, such as a golf shop or a pro shop. There is a massive range of sports clubs which are involved in a significant variety of activities. If a serious level of income is generated, that is a different matter. I have been very clear in all my public comments. The Fine Gael Deputies who have upset the Senator by issuing those statements-----

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: -----have also been very clear that this is not about commercial activity not being rated or the generation of serious income. I hope I have been emphatic that we are not referring to the diminutive income suggested by the Senator. The guidelines which will be issued and the practice to date reflects that. The Valuations Office has a very good track record on this.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: The Senator is reading the amendment in isolation.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: Good.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: So do we.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: I thank Senator Hayden for her constructive suggestions. Income generation tends to come from commercial activity. The generation of income does not mean the nominal receipts of income. I do not want to get tied up in a word game. I have outlined very clearly the intention of the Bill and the amendment, which is to improve the lot we have inherited and make things better for sports clubs....

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: This amendment seeks to clarify and outline what has always been the view of the Valuation Office, and one presumes of this House when passing legislation in 2001 on the Valuation Bill, regarding an exclusion from valuation of any constructions which are designed or used primarily to induce a process of change as opposed to storage. I make the point that if there is a storage container down...

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: It is proposed to change the Long Title of the Bill in order to reflect the importance of correctness of valuations and their relativity to each other, as already provided for in section 49 and otherwise in the Principal Act. The important and overriding principle is that the valuation of properties is determined correctly in themselves and correctly by reference to the values of other...

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2014)

Simon Harris: I note the points the Senator has made and the points on which we have differed during this constructive debate and take this opportunity to say that I expect some of the issues we have teased out in regard to child care, sports clubs and the concerns of the Irish Hotels Federation can be rectified on Report Stage and the legislation can be improved as a result. That is a good days work for...

Mortgage Arrears: Motion [Private Members] (4 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 1:To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:“acknowledges that the Government inherited a severe mortgage arrears crisis from the previous Government; accepts that the mortgage problem is a significant economic and social challenge for the State and that the Government is aware of the difficulties some homeowners...