Results 6,201-6,220 of 32,845 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: That is my question. Can we not use it under the rules?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I am not holding the officials over the coals for policy. I am asking a simple question. Mr. Moran has referred to Government policy. Is it Government policy that we cannot use what we received for the shares, or are they EU rules?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Will the officials, please, try to explain it for me?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Government policy could be changed to allow us to spend the money. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Then it is the fiscal rules that are stopping us from spending the money. Is that it?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I do not want a history lesson. I do not need a clarification on the history of this. I need to understand so that I can explain this to people. What did we get for selling the AIB shares? Why can we not spend this money?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: To put this in plain English, I will have to explain that to people on waiting lists, people on trolleys and people who cannot get health treatment. Please explain this.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: The rules are stopping the Taoiseach but he is happy to tell us he is complying with these rules. The Taoiseach is basically stating he will not even attempt to change these rules to be able to get people off trolleys or to build houses. Mr. McCarthy has brought in the Taoiseach on policy. Is that not what he is saying?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Let me put this in plain English. The Taoiseach has said that we are going to comply with these rules and Mr. McCarthy is repeating what the Taoiseach said. The people left waiting for homes or spending nearly two-thirds of their income on astronomical rents are the collateral damage of those rules. Speaking as economists and financial experts, do the witnesses have no views on this? Do...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: One-offs can make a considerable difference to the number of houses built. They can give hope to people. They can give vision to the country and bring change. I will leave that for the moment and will ask another specific question about risks to the economy. The only serious challenge to the Irish economy mentioned by the witnesses was the much-discussed Brexit. What other risks have...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: We as members of the committee are allocated even less time. We must read all of this information before us on the table and try to get to the crux of the matter. I have a great difficulty with the idea of a thriving economy, an economy that is moving in the right direction. This idea of keeping the economy going sounds very much like Fine Gael's slogan in the last election but that is...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I am going to stay away from the Taoiseach and politics. I am looking at risk assessments here and specific mention was made of Brexit. I actually think that Brexit offers opportunities, as has been acknowledged by many people, but that is for another day. This is the last Dáil in which to take any meaningful step to stop climate change. The 2006 Stern report, which I am sure the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I accept that and I welcome all of these as positive measures. We need to hold these up, however, against what needs to be done. I am talking about the economic challenges posed to our country by climate change in terms both of the direct effects and of the enormous fines we will be obliged to pay within few years, which range from €600 million up to more than €5 billion. We...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I am sorry. The Chairman should have told me.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: My final question concerns infrastructure. We are about to get an opening statement from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. It will refer to the key importance of addressing infrastructural needs. The European Union, which apparently sets the fiscal rules we cannot change, is criticising us for not investing in infrastructure. My questions are on climate change and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I asked for the bigger picture.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Is Mr. McCarthy going to answer that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I am. Deputy Cullinane has asked the Department to come back with a breakdown of what it saw, and I will not repeat the request. It seems the Department is quoting the rules without looking at the consequences and it is leaving out the indicators that I already mentioned and will not repeat. I have some practical questions. Does the Department of Finance pay rent for the building in...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: The OPW is the landlord, and the Department is there free of charge as a Government body and a Department. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2015
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 18 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
Finance Accounts 2015 (6 Jul 2017)

Catherine Connolly: There is a landlord but no rent payable.