Results 4,421-4,440 of 26,843 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Tourism Promotion (5 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the education missions and events Fáilte Ireland took part in in 2012 and which they plan to in 2013; and if he will specify the work done with the relevant institutions/providers to increase their capability and potential to attract international students in 2012, and the plans for 2013. [11206/13]

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: As Deputy Durkan suggested and, I suspect, most people would agree, few institutions need a fundamental re-organisation of how they operate as badly as the HSE. It has no credibility in the eyes of the wider public or the health service's users. However, it is important to qualify this statement. There is an almost universal phenomenon in which everyone who engages with the health service...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I apologise, as I do not know how to turn off mobile telephones. Mine is dysfunctional as well. Re-organising the structure is a positive move if, as the Bill suggests, that re-organisation is a transition towards a better structure that is more responsive to the needs of the service's users, for example, patients, delivers services better and ends the unacceptable scenario of some...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I move amendment No. 2: In page 10, lines 20 to 23, to delete all words from and including “, or” in line 20 down to and including “€60,000” in line 23 and substitute “and has an aggregate income that exceeds €65,000”.This is an attempt to shift the balance of taxation from those who cannot afford it to those who can. The universal...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That confirms the estimate of the cost we included in our pre-budget submission of removing the universal social charge from those earning under €65,000. We said it would cost €2.5 billion which is slightly higher than what the Minister is suggesting, although I thank him for the confirmation. However, we also pointed out that by putting extra taxes in whatever form - the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I will respond to the Minister's points and will not drag the matter on indefinitely. These amendments, both those that were accepted and those that were not, all point to one of the key issues, the universal social charge. Let us be clear - this is one of the measures that has hurt people most and devastated their income, what they take home in pay. Therefore it is worthy of discussion....

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Yes, but this is about the argument about the USC. The figures show that Germany and Sweden, the two economies that have proved most resilient in the face of the current recession, have much higher rates of income tax, particularly for higher earners. They have not seen the dramatic collapse of growth or rise in unemployment that we have. There is a serious argument for shifting tax policy...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is true.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is in amendment No. 3.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: If I want to bring the amendment back I have to withdraw it. Is that right? Do I move it and then withdraw it? Is that how it works?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: If I want to bring it back on Report Stage-----

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is difficult for the Minister to sustain the argument that his approach to these matters is in the round progressive against a background whereby we have a month-on-month deterioration in the financial situation of low and middle-income households. The most stark testimony of this is the Irish League of Credit Unions surveys, which have shown dramatic increases even over a three-month...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is not rhetoric. The Minister suggested this tax policy was good for investment. I am simply pointing out that it is not.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I would like the Minister to sustain his assertion that his approach to tax, whether in the form of a universal social charge or not, is good for jobs, despite the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever that it is stimulating employment. Employment is on the floor and I see no increase. I just do not understand how the Minister can continue to put forward those assertions without any...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I have made my point. There is no point in going over this.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Hold on. There are two things I cannot let pass. I do not know whether the Minister has the list of committee amendments in front of him. It shows clearly that I submitted amendments to seek to get the money from elsewhere. They were ruled out of order. The particular method employed essentially provides for a sliding scale. It is not about hammering people as soon as they get over the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Excuse me. If the person is on €140,000, that is another big difference. It is not about saying a tax rate of 90% should be imposed as soon as a person's earnings exceed €100,000 per annum. Why is the Minister resisting the idea of, and the viability of, a progressive sliding scale that would capture more revenue in a fair and sustainable manner? The Minister has not really...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: This relates directly to the universal social charge.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I was not making the same points over and over.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I take that point and that was the understanding under which we were all operating. Maybe that is something we could change. Will somebody explain what the motion was yesterday because we were labouring under the illusion that it had something to do with this process?