Results 1,081-1,100 of 3,895 for speaker:John Halligan

Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (8 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: I do not have much time but I will say what I can. What is required is a reasoned and truthful debate. Let us remember the so-called debate EirGrid had with many hundreds of thousands of people in its effort to half-con people over pylons. There was very little consultation. As a matter of fact, it was awful. I welcome the Bill. As it states, it is an attempt to impose proper...

Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (8 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: I do not know whether they had. They said they would have no problem with exporting energy once we became self-sufficient in energy. That is a reasonable aspect of the Bill and I do not have a problem with it. There are pros and cons to wind energy and we should wise up to that in the debate. Wind energy is green energy and there is potential for enormous power from wind, 20 times more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Voting Rights of EU Citizens: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: I wish to make it clear before I begin that while I was nominated by the Technical Group I do not necessarily represent the views of its members by virtue of its composition. More than 120 of the 196 nations in the world have enfranchised their citizens who live abroad. Many of the nations which deny the vote are either military dictatorships or given to elections that are neither fair nor...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Voting Rights of EU Citizens: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: No, I did not say that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Voting Rights of EU Citizens: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: First, there is no question but that all of us accept it is a complex issue by virtue of the fact that we have the largest diaspora in the world relative to the population in Ireland. It is in the region of 40 million to 70 million if one is to include everybody who left Ireland. A couple of issues arise. One is that we should be careful how we decide to define an Irish citizen. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Voting Rights of EU Citizens: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: I believe citizens should have a vote in all elections in the country. If I did not mention that, I apologise.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Voting Rights of EU Citizens: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: There is no question about that. However, we have to start on the premise that we are wrongfully disenfranchising our citizens, as Europe has told us. I agree that we need to include the greater diaspora. We cannot just give the vote to Irish citizens in Europe while excluding those in America and Australia.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Voting Rights of EU Citizens: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: We need to bring the French in to discuss this because they established the reserved constituency to avoid swamping. I am not sure how that works.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: 3. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the rationale behind taxing income gained through employment on Tús programmes (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17796/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: Will the Minister explain the rationale behind taxing income gain through the employment Tús programmes? I understand that income over €350 is taxed at 4%. I draw the Minister's attention to the details I have attached to my question. I gave the Minister an example of a chap who was taxed €15.70 on his €20 which meant he received 22 cent per hour for the 19.5 hours...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: The Minister missed the essential point. I am not attacking the Tús schemes. I have contacted the Department of Social Protection on the issue and it has acknowledged that one can be taxed and PRSI can be taken from the €20. Essentially, a person on a Tús scheme is on a social welfare payment. The Minister is asking such a person to work 19.5 hours for €20.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: Surely, common sense would make it clear that if we ask people to work on a Tús scheme - the Minister is correct that many people want to take up such schemes - we should leave them alone, irrespective of their social welfare income and allowances for dependent adults and children. The additional €20 paid on top of their social welfare income should be excluded from tax and PRSI....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: According to figures from the Department of Social Protection which I received during the week, men make up 74% of those who take up the Tús scheme and 65% of the total Tús cohort falls within the 25 to 49 age bracket. That age and gender profile would suggest that in a significant number of cases a Tús worker is also the main breadwinner in a family. That is the argument...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: 5. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the way rent allowance limits can differ so drastically by county and in local areas throughout the country particularly in Waterford where the rent allowance limits are so much lower than in the neighbouring county of Kilkenny (details supplied); her views on whether the current rent limits brought in to run from June 2013 to December 2014...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: Could the Minister clarify to the House how the rent allowance scheme appears to differ so drastically from county to county? Does she agree that the rent limits set to run from June 2013 to December 2014 do not accurately reflect the recent rent rises charged by landlords?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: It has been stated repeatedly that the varying rent levels nationwide are intended to fall in with the cost of rent in the private sector. However, if, for example, one takes a one-parent family or a couple in Waterford with one child, they must comply with a rent limit of €475 per month. The average for all dwellings let in Waterford in the final quarter of last year was...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: Based on the money available at present, for the aforementioned €475, a young family in Waterford would be lucky to get a one-bedroomed apartment. These are facts confirmed by the PRTB's average rent database.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: First, applicants receive rent supplement on the basis that they have no other source of accommodation available to them. Otherwise, they would not be able to afford rental accommodation. The point is that in some areas throughout the country, rents have increased dramatically. It is incorrect to state it may only have increased in Dublin, Cork, Wicklow or wherever. Rents have increased...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: I do not believe so.

Leaders' Questions (16 Apr 2014)

John Halligan: We will have a debate after it is decided.