Results 11,841-11,860 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The discussion have not been confined to public service pay. If I inadvertently gave that impression, it was certainly not my intention. I tried to convey in my speech the urgency of addressing the need for an effective saving in public sector pay in order to prepare for the Estimates next year. The discussions are not confined to public sector pay. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, myself...

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am not getting into a pejorative argument on how many boards the Deputy is setting up to do this, but the essence of his proposals is that we should realise the value of the ESB and Bord Gáis.

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: One must generate the equity somewhere. The question arises in the current market conditions as to whether the taxpayer would get a decent return on the disposal of these assets. Having disposed of the assets, the Deputy is proposing that they be put into some form of public investment vehicle, which will then invest the proceeds in other forms of investment, such as broadband. The Deputy...

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: -----and the social insurance fund provides essential protection for those out of the workforce and for some in the workforce. These are all factors the Government will have to take into account. I will not comment on that in advance of a budget.

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: There are many big questions there. First, I believe we should have a strong, vibrant and proud public sector. As Minister responsible for the public sector, I am very concerned at the demoralisation that has taken place. However, no sector can be immune from criticism and no sector that is paid for by the taxpayer can be immune from cost control. These are fundamental matters for any...

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: There are two points. First, in response to Deputy Rabbitte, discussions are taking place with the organisations that represent public service workers. Clearly, we will continue to engage with them. The Taoiseach urged them not to engage in today's industrial action. I do not believe the public are impressed by today's industrial action. While I agree that there has been an amount of...

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: A minute or two, with the leave of the Ceann Comhairle. Deputy Varadkar made a very constructive suggestion. Were we to say that a combination of a pay reduction with improvements in work practices in the next year would secure the necessary savings for 2011 and bring certainty into the public service and certainty to their income, it would be of enormous assistance to the public sector....

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Deputy Lee introduced a wider question and I was somewhat disturbed by the thrust of his remarks. The issue is not how long we spend exiting from the excessive deficit position. It is true that we have an agreement with the Commission, which runs for five years. It is true we are the first European country to get into serious difficulties. Many other European countries are now surpassing...

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Please Deputy Burton, I am restricting myself to the public finances. That money has nothing to do with the figures we are discussing.

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is not in the €22 billion I referred to in my speech, nor is it in the Stability and Growth Pact calculations-----

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It will be very difficult to have a debate on this if Deputy Burton keeps introducing matter external to the debate. It is not included in these Stability and Growth Pact statistics. It does not count in Brussels.

Industrial Action by Public Service Unions: Statements (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It does not count in Brussels. I will conclude on my response to Deputy Lee's comments. What we must do, as the Labour Party and Fine Gael have acknowledged, is to stabilise the figure at 12%. That is the target of this year's budget. We cannot allow the figure to deteriorate further. Given the general economic signs in the economy, the growing improvement in the live register position,...

Written Answers — Freedom of Information: Freedom of Information (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Work is well advanced in my Department on provision for the extension of Freedom of Information requirements to a range of public service organisations including Vocational Education Committees. The remaining practical issues are currently being pursued and once these are finalised I expect that I will be able to put final proposals to Government regarding the extension of the Act in 2010.

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The position is that under statutory pension schemes and pension schemes approved by the Revenue Commissioners, there is no liability to income tax in respect of retirement gratuities or lump sums paid to members of such schemes on retirement, provided the lump sum payments comply with the legislative requirements and Revenue rules in this area. Any remaining pension funds paid, for example,...

Written Answers — Disabled Drivers: Disabled Drivers (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: A special Interdepartmental Review Group reviewed the operation of the Disabled Drivers Scheme. It examined the current benefits, the qualifying medical criteria, the Exchequer costs, relationship with other schemes and similar schemes in other countries. The report also made a number of recommendations, both immediate and long-term, referring respectively to the operation of the appeals...

Written Answers — Mortgage Arrears: Mortgage Arrears (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Deputy will be aware of the Governments commitment under the Renewed Programme for Government to introduce new measures to protect families having difficulties with their home mortgage payments. Further work is ongoing on these issues with a view to early results. This work will build on existing Government supported solutions for dealing with home owners with mortgage arrears including:...

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Persons aged over 65 are not automatically entitled to an exemption from Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT). Since April 2007, individuals are exempt from DIRT on their savings income provided: 1. the person or their spouse is aged 65 or over and 2. the person's total income in a year (including the savings income) is below the annual exemption limit – currently €20,000 in the case...

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The position is that the yield from the abolition of mortgage interest relief for residences purchased in 2010 would be dependant on a number of inter-related factors such as the level of house purchasing, house prices, availability of credit and prevailing interest rates in 2010. In the current circumstances, it is not possible to predict these factors accurately enough to provide a...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is assumed that the Deputy has in mind replacing the existing mortgage interest relief rates of 20%, 22.5% and 25% for first time buyers with rates of 25%, 30% and 35% respectively. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that sufficient data on mortgage interest relief is not available to enable a precise estimate to be provided of the cost to the Exchequer of the changes mentioned by...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (24 Nov 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The annual earnings cap of €150,000 operates to limit the level of tax-relieved pension contributions made by an individual or on behalf of an employee in any one year. The annual earnings cap acts, in conjunction with age-related percentage limits of annual earnings, to put a ceiling on the annual amount of tax relief an individual taxpayer can obtain on pension contributions. The full...