Results 6,461-6,480 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Motor Vehicles (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: May I respond?

Motor Vehicles (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I move the following amendment: That the word "vehicles" be changed to "vehicle".

Seanad: Philantrophy and Fund-raising: Motion (27 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: She is very good.

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013: Second Stage (28 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: The primary purpose of the Bill is to give legislative effect to the increases in motor tax rates and trade plate licences contained in the financial resolution on motor tax passed by the Dáil on budget day, 5 December 2012. The new rates applied in respect of motor tax paid after budget night for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013. The Bill confirms the increases in motor tax...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013: Second Stage (28 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank all the Senators for their contributions. As we are taking Committee and Remaining Stages today, I will not delay the House. Many of the points made make sense in their own right. When we examine what we have to do as a country and how we have to fund the road network and local government we have no choice but to do what we did in the budget. The key point is the relationship...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: In response to Senator Mooney, this is not the first year that funding has been taken from motor tax income and used to service the national debt. That was done last year as well, with an amount of ¤46 million. This year, the maximum that can be taken is ¤150 million. This will only happen in the last quarter of the year when all of the issues will be examined and the balance that is...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: Yes. It may not be that amount but it absolutely cannot exceed the ¤150 million limit. In response to Senator Landy, the Government decided to introduce the local property tax this year. When one talks about funding local government, the critical issue is the powers given to elected members of local government. I spent 27 years in local government as an elected representative. Like the...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Senator Barrett for tabling this amendment. The contribution of the Members of this House allows for the most reflective debate on the issues. I acknowledge the professional information and the background studies that he has offered to the Department. I know they will be welcomed and will be considered, which is what he requested. The Minister cannot accept the amendment today. He...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I assure Senator Barrett that all of the issues he raised, and those which are regularly raised with the Department by the industry, are very much under discussion. However, they are extremely complex. I know the Senator acknowledges that fact. Notwithstanding their complexity, the issues in question are the subject of active contemplation and discussion. I appreciate that the Senator...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Establishment (17 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I propose to take Questions Nos. 176 to 179, inclusive, together. The Water Sector Reform Implementation Strategy , which is published on my Department’s website, is focused on ensuring that appropriate policy and legal frameworks are put in place for Irish Water and the water sector. A key objective is to rationalise the cost of the current service delivery and ensure more...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Gas Exploration Revenue (18 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 168 together. There have been four commercial natural gas discoveries since exploration began offshore Ireland in the early 1970s, namely the Kinsale, Ballycotton and Seven Heads (Kinsale area) producing gas fields off the coast of Cork and the Corrib gas field off the coast of Mayo. There have been no commercial discoveries of oil to date. The...

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Order for Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to open the debate on the Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013, the primary purpose of which is to provide for a system of declaring vehicles off the road in advance for motor tax purposes. In other words, we are introducing a prospective system of making off-road declarations. This will close the loophole, whereby owners are...

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: If I may be helpful to the Deputy, that provision is not in the Bill.

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I understand.

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: The hearse has been taxed since 1967.

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: That tax was brought in in 1967.

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: It is one month's notice.

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: That is not true.

Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Apr 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: That is not true.