Results 10,801-10,820 of 26,924 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I take that point but we spoke about prudence. If the EU ruling stands and the money was money that was owed to us, there would be nothing imprudent in our spending the money. It is money we should have had all along. Is that not the fact?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I did not say we had to spend it all in one go.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I have a question on the general corporation tax head. There has been a gross distortion of the growth figures because of what we believe is probably the relocation of intellectual property assets by Apple. Mr. Coffey outlined the figures in question relating to deductions on the part of Apple and a few other companies. The figures jumped massively from 2007 onwards and were part of what I...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Are there not provisional figures? We get announcements on those.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Would Mr. Coffey not want to ask, as I do, for information that is as up-to-date as possible in the form of provisional figures? We could then have some picture of what is going on. This is a huge distortion in our economy, which has spawned the term "leprechaun economics" and made us the laughing stock of the world. Would it not be helpful for us to have a more detailed picture, if not...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: This is very important and I accept what the witnesses say about disentangling the double Irish from trade charges. The jump from 2007 onwards, however, is spectacular. The deductions were allowed go from €6 billion to €19 billion and then to €21 billion. Can Mr. Coffey confirm that these were deductions that were allowed in advance? Mr. Coffey's paper refers to...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: They are, certainly, but my point is that they jumped extraordinarily. The scale of the jump is so vast. If I was in the Revenue Commissioners, I would be looking at whether this is an abuse of the allowances in place. If an allowance goes from €6 billion to €19 billion in a couple of years and then goes up to €21 billion, I would be asking whether the allowance is...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The companies are setting their own prices.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: These are quick-fire questions. First, the council representatives said that the Government was at the outer limits of prudence. Would it be fair to say that our view about how we could and should raise extra money for spending, current and capital, from wealth taxes or higher taxes on those with higher incomes is far more prudent because it is about gaining extra revenue from relatively...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is because it is prudent. We are very prudent, in other words.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is a matter of opinion.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I have a further question.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I put this question to the ESRI as well. We have had a discussion about possibly making a case to Europe or there was reference to discussions in Europe about distinguishing between capital and current expenditure, particularly where there might be a return and so on. Is it the council's understanding that currently there is provision for us to make that distinction which therefore would...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Alan Barrett seemed to indicate there might be circumstances, and people have argued for this in some cases. Is it true, for example, that if money is spent during flood emergencies, such expenditure is different? Does the council know exactly what the rules are on this? Is there any flexibility or is it a matter of us making a political case for a change? I am thinking of housing in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (14 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I will try to say one positive thing. I welcome the fact that there is a serious discussion about this crisis, albeit very belatedly for a crisis that has been building up for at least the past five or six years. There is a serious attempt to engage with it, but I am deeply sceptical about the capacity of this plan to deal with the scale of the problem. This is primarily because it relies...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (14 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The Minister seems to be indicating that the procurement process and other things are the biggest delays, other than the building time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (14 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: There is an immediate issue in Dún Laoghaire, where a Part 8 has been agreed. Clearly, the council wants a rapid build. I cannot see an argument as to why that should not be bricks-and-mortar. One could start a bricks-and-mortar project straight away and have something that is permanent, rather than having a 60-year lifespan, and an asset that is appreciating as opposed to degrading...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (14 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I want to add to that. In the Part 8 for the project to which I refer, in an area which needs one-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom units and where most of the people on the priority emergency homeless list are those with a need for a unit with more than two bedrooms, every single unit has two bedrooms. It makes no sense. Why is that the case? Any sustainable development will have a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (14 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I have had less time than any of the previous speakers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (14 Sep 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is another question. On the 10% and 20% allocation of private developments and so on, it is becoming very irritating. There is a large NAMA development in Dún Laoghaire, the second phase of which is going ahead. Building is taking place. When it sought planning permission, there was a 20% allocation for social housing, which is being built, but we will now only get 10% of it.