Results 10,121-10,140 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The charge is payable by 31 March. There has been quite a degree of public awareness of the charge over the course over the past couple of weeks. At this stage, the best advice any Member of this House can give to a member of the public is that he or she is liable to the charge and that it must be paid.

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: As Deputy Martin said, I acknowledged last week and repeat that there have been difficulties associated with people making arrangements to pay the charge. It must also be said that nobody likes paying a tax or charge, particularly if it is new. In this case, as Deputy Martin knows, the charge has been introduced because the agreement his Government made with the troika provided for the...

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Deputy Adams shows up here only the odd time-----

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: -----so he has probably missed the statement made by the Minister for Finance here last week in which he made it clear that the Government intends to settle the promissory note issue by way of a long-term Government bond. That is a matter we will be returning to. Deputy Adams describes the household charge as unfair but it is not quite as unfair as the household charge his party and...

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: That, in the currency that Deputy Adams would like to put at risk, is €1,428. It was increased by 2.5% by the Deputy's colleagues in the budget they voted through. In February 2012, there was another round of increases, some as high as 5.9%. Deputy Adams is very quick to draw attention to what my party colleagues have to say about the household charge. When his colleagues in Northern...

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I am not quite sure which of the many questions Deputy Adams has asked or the different issues he has raised-----

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government has introduced a cap on public service pay of €200,000. It is the first Government to have done so and naturally it wants to have it retained.

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: As I have said previously, no one likes paying taxes, particularly new taxes. The household charge had to be introduced because the previous Government gave a commitment that it would introduce a property tax in 2012.

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: No. The household charge has been introduced by the Government as an interim measure. It will be replaced by a property tax. The Government is working on its proposals for the property tax as to how it will be calculated, what sizes of property will be taken into account, arrangements on ability to pay and so on. At some stage when Deputy Adams gets around to it, I would be very interested...

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Does it agree with the introduction of a property tax? If so, at what level should it be set? It would be useful for Sinn Féin and for reasoned debate in the House for it to put on the table where it actually stands on the issue of property tax.

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: While Deputy Adams is at it, he might also tell us where he actually stands on advising people whether they should pay the household charge.

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: There is a considerable degree of ambiguity in Sinn Féin's position on this. One day it is running with the hounds and chasing with the hare - I mean running with the hare and chasing with the hounds.

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Sinn Féin is running with the hare and chasing with the hounds as to whether it will advise people to pay the charge or not. What does Deputy Adams say to people when they attend his constituency office to ask him whether they should pay the charge?

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I agree with Deputy Higgins that what we read in the report of the Mahon tribunal, which described the corruption in the planning system as systemic, was absolutely disgusting. We will have the opportunity to have a debate on the report later today when we can set out what needs to be done. The Government is committed to acting on the Mahon tribunal report. We have already referred it to...

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I am not bullying or threatening anyone. I am stating what is a fact, namely, the Government introduced a household charge of €100. This was not recommended by the ESRI or any other body cited by the Deputy. It was the Government's decision to impose a household charge of €100 and to introduce a deadline for payment. No value is gained by bullying, threatening or exaggerating, as the...

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The guest of honour at the Global Irish Economic Forum was President Bill Clinton. Subsequently, he organised a successful investment event for this country to attempt to bring jobs-----

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: -----and investment to Ireland so that our economy might recover.

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: At the end of the day, what really matters is that we get our economy to recover.

Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: We will do that by attracting investment and getting the jobs that are required. In the meantime, we have a difficult road to travel to bring about economic recovery. Part of this difficult road is the introduction of the household charge. No one likes additional charges and we would all prefer if we did not need to introduce or pay this one, but it is a reality and must be paid by 31 March.

Order of Business (27 Mar 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It is proposed to take No. 14, statements on the Final Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the following arrangements shall apply in relation to No. 14: the statements of the Tánaiste and of the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in...