Results 32,241-32,260 of 33,289 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Financial Instruments (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I absolutely refute the allegations and language used by the Deputies. This Government could not be clearer in our condemnation of the behaviour and loss of life that is taking place in Gaza and the untold suffering those people have endured. We have made that case very prominently within the EU and at a global level. As Minister for Finance, I am obliged to tell the truth about the work...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Financial Instruments (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Let me return in a moment to deal with the substantive issue raised by Deputy O’Callaghan but before I do so, I will reply to Deputy Murphy. At a time when we seek to look at how politics can unite people and bring people together, I am reminded again and again that for somebody who claims to be on the left and someone who claims to be part of a movement that is about tolerance and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Financial Instruments (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: His language consistently looks to demonise those who are acting in good faith. He, in turn, in his own way is a contributor to the decay of standards and how we can engage with each other and debate issues in a way that is respectful. Every time he contributes on such a matter, he does it in a way that seeks to demonise an opponent or deny good faith.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Financial Instruments (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: That is the Deputy's contribution. I am responding back to charges he laid against me that I am compelled to respond back to.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Financial Instruments (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: On the substantive issue that is being raised here today, I reiterate the clear view of the Government on what has happened in Gaza and the Middle East. However, there are a particular number of responsibilities that the Central Bank is obliged to discharge that are rooted not just in national and EU law and it discharges those responsibilities. The Governor of the Central Bank has outlined...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Electric Vehicles (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The existing vehicle tax structures in the State have a strong environmental rationale, with the more pollutant, fossil-fuelled cars paying higher rates of tax, between motor tax, benefit in kind, BIK, vehicle registration tax, VRT, and the nitrogen oxide, NOx, charge. In contrast, low-emission cars and electric vehicles, EVs, are subject to lower rates of tax. I know the Deputy will be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Electric Vehicles (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I appreciate the case the Deputy is making for the further support of EVs. It is interesting to see the growth that has taken place and I hope it will continue in the coming years as EV technology improves and as we do a better job of rolling out the charging network needed to facilitate those who use EVs. We have made reasonable progress but it is very obvious that we need to do even more,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Electric Vehicles (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I will certainly take on board what the Deputy said and make sure officials in the Department consider it. I am not doubting for a single moment the impact of the various measures she has suggested or what they could do to enhance the further take-up of EVs. We will certainly consider all of that in the coming weeks and months. I do, however, need to relate it back to the broader...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Relations (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for raising this. Just to add to his point, the greatest challenge of all to the livelihoods of those he is raising today is if the changes that happened last night become bigger and permanent and if they fundamentally change how our global economy works. In order to see if we can avoid that happening, we need to have negotiation and engagement with the US, as the Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Relations (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: To reconfirm to the Deputy, we have already raised the different sectors within the economy. The food and beverage sectors he raised are a really important part of the communities he represents and contribute to his local economy. Those issues have been raised. The Tánaiste formally communicated with the Commission, I believe on Monday, on this, making the case on the food and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Relations (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputies for the questions they have raised. The very important companies the Deputy Neville mentioned, Kerry Group and Intel, form an excellent example of making the case for trade because they are also present in the United States of America. They sell there and have a large presence there. I will, on behalf of the communities the Deputies represent and that other...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Collection (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Property owners who are experiencing financial difficulty may avail of a wide range of flexible payment options in respect of current local property tax, LPT, liabilities and for any previous years. To answer the Deputy's question on those accessing it, the number is quite low: 0.6% of all taxpayers are accessing it across the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. Ahead of the revaluation in 2021, I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Collection (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: To bring to life the figures and move them beyond percentages, the overall number of properties that accessed the deferral option was between 11,800 and 12,500, so it is indeed a low number. The Deputy made a point about the ability for LPT to be varied upward by 25%. One of the things I have learned from watching how this tax operates is this. I believe 25 out of 30 local authorities...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Collection (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I referenced earlier the large number of significant employers clustered in particular parts of our country. This is, for want of a better phrase, because of the ecosystem and their ability to upskill people working in communities who then leave to go to employers in similar sectors located in similar parts of our country. There are some very large employers, and one in particular that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Relations (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 15 together. The Single Market is the best answer we have to this. We are speaking about the need to grow trade to take the place of trade that may be lost. The best place to do this is on our own doorstep. We have on our doorstop this incredible creation, which Irish politicians and diplomats have spent decades trying to craft, which is the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Relations (3 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Geoghegan has laid out a compelling case, with which I agree, regarding Europe's place in the world and what we have built up in the Single Market and by means of the rule of law. The argument we need to make is that if people invest in Ireland and Europe, if they employ people in Europe and if they want to create new ideas and be entrepreneurs in Europe, they will do so in a very...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Rebates (1 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The Diesel Rebate Scheme allows qualifying road haulage and passenger transport operators to claim a partial refund on excise duty paid for diesel used in qualifying vehicles. Qualifying businesses must submit rebate claims within 4 months of the end of each quarterly claim period. Once a claim is validated and approved for refund, monies are systematically offset against any customer tax...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (1 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997 provides for tax relief where an individual proves that he or she has incurred costs in respect of qualifying health expenses. Only “health expenses” incurred in the provision of “health care”, which has been carried out or advised by (in certain circumstances) a “practitioner”, will qualify for...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (1 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Finance Act 2018 introduced a short-term, tapered regional uplift under the section 481 film tax credit for productions being made in areas designated under the State aid regional guidelines (among other criteria). The purpose of the regional uplift was to support the development of new, local pools of talent in areas outside the main production hubs, to support the geographic spread of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fiscal Data (1 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The NTMA have informed me that at end-2024, Gross National Debt stood at €232.6bn. After deducting Exchequer cash and other financial assets of €39.6bn, Net National Debt was €193bn at end-2024. Exchequer debt service expenditure was €3.1bn in 2024 and, at the time of Budget 2025 in October 2024, was projected to be €3.2bn in 2025. As contain in the...