Results 7,361-7,380 of 16,492 for speaker:Ciarán Lynch

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: I am not sure whether Irish pubs are the most expensive in Europe. I was in London at the weekend and the price of a pint frightened the life out of me. It is an expensive city in which to have a pint. The cost base is far lower in eastern Europe but surely Dublin is cheaper for a pint than most European capital cities.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: I am not interested in the excise burden as the argument relates to customers buying pints. If I put X amount of money on the counter I will get X amount of alcohol back. In Ireland it seems one gets a reasonable amount of alcohol for a given price compared with other countries. I discovered at the weekend that measures for spirits in Britain are around half as big as those in Ireland and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: We seem to get a good deal in Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: That is more or less the case in every European state.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: That just means we are better at squeezing producers than other jurisdictions. The price of a pint is still relatively cheap compared with other jurisdictions and the Irish taxpayer does well from the arrangement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: It is a tax on consumption.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: In other jurisdictions the cost of a pint is more than €5.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: That is not the case in all pubs. In any of the pubs I have been to in Britain, France and so on, alcohol was around the same price as in Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: In what European capitals is the cost of a pint cheaper than in Dublin?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Am I correct that what Mr. Cribben is saying is that prices in Dublin are marginally more expensive than everywhere else in the country?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: With regard to minimum pricing, in what direction should we be going?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: IBEC's presentation is based on the assumption that the correction at the end of the year will be approximately €200 million. Some people say the actual correction needed is €1.5 billion. Two hundred million is a fair bit off that amount. Let us take it that the correction will be €200 million. Ms Burke referred in her presentation to the need for tax and other...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: The €200 million projection is based on our doing nothing. IBEC is proposing that tax and other reliefs be given, which means that that €200 million could become €1 billion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: IBEC is in favour of current expenditure reductions and a lessening of the tax regime.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: This correction is to be made by continued public expenditure reductions but no tax increases.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: In essence, IBEC is suggesting that this year's budget will come in more or less on target.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: In ratio terms, over the past four and a half years taxation has been running at 14% and public expenditure has been running at 16%, which on a compound level over a three- or four-year period is quite high. Does IBEC have any recommendations in relation to areas wherein public expenditure could be increased to address the difficulties of the past three or four years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: There is nothing in IBEC's proposal for the Minister, Deputy Howlin.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: It is all about revenue?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (15 Jul 2014)

Ciarán Lynch: Thank you.