Results 6,961-6,980 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: This is part of the problem we have, a Cheann Comhairle. The Government is completely intolerant of any criticism, of any debate about its measures. Its members believe it is invincible. I can tell them this much - it is not invincible. I am standing here on this side of the House with a mandate to represent people and to question the Government's budget. I will do so based on facts and...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: The headline package in the Minister's budget is his income tax proposal. I have already mentioned that an individual earning €32,000 is better off to the tune of €174 per annum, before we even talk about water charges. In contrast, an individual earning €70,000 a year will benefit to the tune of €746 a year, which is four times greater. Take the example of a...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: -----but instead to design tax cuts that disproportionately put far more money in the pockets of higher income earners. That speaks volumes about where this Government's priorities lie. We all know the Government's first three budgets were deeply regressive, hitting low- and middle-income families the hardest and letting off the highest income earners in the country virtually scot free....

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: This is first budget since the end of the EU-IMF agreement and it gives us a clear sense of the Government's lack of priorities. There is no vision of what a post-austerity Ireland will look like, no statement of our values as a people, no talk of fairness or social solidarity, and, most depressingly of all, no indication that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: The Government's promise of an end to boom-and-bust policies rings as hollow as the promise to abolish the prescription charge, the promise to give free GP care to all and the promise not to increase student fees. People have sacrificed too much for the recovery to be put in jeopardy. This is a Government that took medical cards from the sick, the dying and the disabled until it was shamed...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: I know that the Government does not like what I am saying, which is why Government Deputies are heckling and trying to drown out what I am saying. Both Ministers were afforded a lot of respect by the Opposition, but Government Deputies are not affording us the same respect. The economic upturn has happened very quickly. Last year there was hardly any economic growth and the situation...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: When they are trying to balance the books on their household budgets, it is an issue which they have to take into account. The Minister established Irish Water and approved expenditure of €180 million in setting it up, as well as a further €500 million for installing meters before a pipe is fixed around the country. He gave the Commission for Energy Regulation its instructions...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: A fundamental pillar of the budget was rubber stamped, with no scope for changes, by the Cabinet on the very day of the budget.

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: I would not put up with that if I was the Minister's Cabinet colleague. Never has so much power been concentrated in the hands of so few. It makes a mockery of the constitutional principle of collective Cabinet responsibility. This is not a mature way of framing the budget, whereby even those who are meant to be making the decision are kept in the dark until the last minute. I have...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: I know it is a touchy subject and that he is nervous about this announcement. In respect of our offerings to those who are looking to invest in Ireland, corporation tax is a vital tool. He stood over the 12.5% rate, which our party has long supported, and we welcome his statement in that regard. However, this is not some theoretical debate about tax planning or the morality of...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: That is a mistake. We should do it in step with other countries but the Minister has chosen otherwise. The improvement in the employment situation is very welcome. I agree with the Minister that the people who suffered the most in the economic collapse were those who lost their jobs. We all want to see further jobs created in the economy. While progress has been made, the real issue now...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: It is because small businesses cannot survive. The SMEs the Minister says are the lifeblood of the economy cannot survive as they are under immense pressure. Small businesses are closing, young people are leaving rural areas and job opportunities are few and far between. We are developing a very lop-sided country with population and employment being pulled into the Dublin area with each...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: The Minister seems to believe the banking system in Ireland has been repaired, but I beg to differ. I use a very simple measure. Today, a young couple seeking to take out a mortgage for the first time will invariably pay an interest rate of 4.25% to 4.5%. A similar couple in the eurozone will typically pay a rate of approximately 2.5% for that mortgage. The same story applies to SMEs...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: When they asked what the Government's policy was, its response was to put its hand into that pension fund and take more money out. The Government has taken €2.2 billion out of the private pensions savings of citizens, which is a scandal. It was legal theft and should never have happened. I am glad that the Minister is finally coming to his senses and will end it.

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: The budget is motivated by electoral strategy. It is introduced by a Government hoping people will forget the way it targeted low and middle income families and how the most vulnerable bore the brunt of the budget adjustment in recent years. It is a budget from a Government that spoke about a democratic revolution and promised ambitious political reform but which has, instead, been the...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Budget Statement 2015 (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: "They had learned nothing and forgotten nothing." Now, we hand it over to the people to pass their judgment.

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Financial Resolution No. 1: Tobacco Products Tax (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: We will support the financial resolution. I have sympathy for the hard-pressed smoker who is addicted to tobacco and who has been hit time and again with excise increases. I support the objective of working towards a smoke-free Ireland and we commend the Government on adopting the strategy and implementing the policies designed to bring it about. We accept the increase will hit people in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Offices (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: 17. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when she expects the planned Intreo office to open in a town (details supplied) in County Cork; if it is planned to move the current social welfare office to the location of the Intreo service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38920/14]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Registration of Nurses (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: 160. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Irish Nursing Board plans to increase its annual retention fee by 50% to €150 from January 2015; if this decision will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38928/14]

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Medical Services Scheme Administration (14 Oct 2014)

Michael McGrath: 161. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address an issue raised in correspondence in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [38933/14]