Results 4,661-4,680 of 26,021 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: I appreciate your guidance, Chairman. On the figures prepared by Mr. McCarthy, the slide on page 20 is the most important and informative from a general overall viewpoint and shows that GNP will grow by 0.2%. When were these up-to-date figures prepared?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: Therefore, they are based on the figures for two quarters. Mr. McCarthy said 0.2% would be the revised growth rate for GDP in 2013. However, he said earlier that the market consensus at this time was that it would be 0%. Is that correct? Will he elaborate on this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Department is projecting a figure of 1.8% in 2014 and Reuters is coming in at around the same figure at 1.7%. In respect of the Department's forecasting, the only areas in which forecasting came in ahead of target were investments, in respect of which the Department forecast a rate of 3.7% and the figure is 4.9%, and unemployment, in respect of which the Department forecast a rate of 14%...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: We are getting conflicting messages from the numbers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: On a final point, why did the Department project the unemployment rate to remain at 14%, but it decreased to 13.5%?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: Yes. The Department projected the level of employment at 1.6%-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: Will Mr. McCarthy explain the term "negative productivity"? Why is it manifesting itself in the economy?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: The final point concerns the issue of the VAT rate and the hospitality sector, to which Mr. Enright referred. What is Mr. McCarthy's overall view on such measures in terms of job creation and job retention?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: If the patent cliff had not happened what would be our growth rate today? That is the basis of Mr. McCarthy's argument.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: That is the basis of the argument.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: The primary surplus of 3.1%, 0.4% was estimated by the witnesses. This is roughly about €600 million or €700 million of a surplus.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: When the SPU figures are being done, why is a range of adjustments not considered as distinct from just looking at the 3.1%?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: This is a pertinent question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: I apologise.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: When was the correspondence received?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: Mr. Elderfield is no longer the deputy Governor of the Central Bank, yet the committee has received correspondence from him subsequent to his departure from that post. It appears the letter was received in October.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: It was received.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (10 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: That is fine.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (Resumed) (10 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: I welcome everyone. I want to go back to a few items relating to WIT. When did Mr. Neavyn take up his appointment as president of the institute?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (Resumed) (10 Oct 2013)

Kieran O'Donnell: In respect of the period covered by the second Deloitte report, what is the relevance of the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009?