Results 18,021-18,040 of 32,983 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: No, I disagree with that. They are all options laid out in the document I referred to earlier.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I guess the answer to that unfolds if we look at the document we published. It goes through the alternative options available. I do not believe we could describe those options as high level. We went through the different options open to the Government, including using the ESB and purchasing other companies. On the basis of that, an evaluation has been made.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I categorically reject the idea that a Government or Department would allow alternative options to be generated by someone involved in the bidding process. That is wrong. As the Deputy said, why would that be in the interests of the other bidders? Why would an entire Department overseeing the process, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, require a bidder to...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: It is certainly a consideration in state aid rules.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I said it was a consideration.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I ask the Deputy to, please, allow me to answer the question. The other factor is we are pre-eminent. To ensure compatibility with State and EU rules, we would have to go through an entire procurement process again. We would have to debate again the same cost issues we are discussing in the context of a State agency.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not aware of the Croatian model.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I can certainly make myself aware of it, I am sure the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment would be aware of such a model.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The role of the Secretary General of my Department is to provide advice for the Government on decisions made. It is up to me to make decisions and be politically accountable for them. That is what I am doing and what I will do in the future. That is the way our system of government and our representative democracy works. In the publication of documents there is engagement pretty much on...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The flip side of what the Deputy has just said is that by the time the point to which she referred is reached, some 500,000 homes will have been connected to broadband. In addition, it is a 25-year contract, to be followed by a further period of ten years. The majority of the money to which the Deputy referred will be used to pay for the entirety of the contract and the availability of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Growth (29 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I regularly monitor the latest economic developments. My Department continually analyses short and medium-term macroeconomic trends in the European and international economy. This includes informing me of the latest forecasts of the global economy, and of our key trading partners from the international institutions. The OECD Economic Outlook Report, published on 21 May 2019, shows a marked...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Corporation Tax (29 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I recently had the opportunity to discuss the OECD work with some of my EU counterparts on the margins of Eurogroup, and there was a more in depth discussion at Ecofin, where I was represented by Minister D’Arcy. It was agreed at the ECOFIN that the various OECD tax proposals should continue to be discussed at EU level to try and identify common areas of interest or concern. The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (30 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation. The Deputy will be aware that neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, have the power to direct insurers on the pricing or provision of insurance products. Indeed, the EU framework (the Solvency II Directive) for insurance expressly prohibits Member States from adopting...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Debt (30 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In general, under the terms of mortgage credit contracts both of the parties to a joint mortgage will be jointly and severally liable for the debt. Accordingly, the removal of persons from a liability for some or all of the debt under a mortgage agreement is a contractual matter for the parties to the agreement or will, having regard to the particular circumstances of any individual case, be...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Corporation Tax Regime (30 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 to 50, inclusive, together. On 28 May the OECD Inclusive Framework on BEPS agreed a programme of work aimed at developing a consensus solution to the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. The programme of work will be undertaken under the auspices of the OECD over the coming months, on a without prejudice basis. I understand...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Appeals Commission (30 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: There were 3,652 appeals on hand before the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) as at 20 May, 2019. I am advised by the TAC that it is difficult to provide an actual quantum figure because the original quantum of tax under appeal may be modified post filing of the notice of appeal (i.e. where an aspect of the appeal is settled or withdrawn), the parties may disagree in relation to the precise...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Staff (30 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am informed by Revenue that since the start of 2019, Revenue has appointed over 500 staff from open recruitment and interdepartmental competitions. The majority of these have been assigned to customs roles or to backfill positions from which existing Revenue staff have been assigned to customs duties.As serving staff take up their new Brexit-related roles, Revenue is back-filling the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legislative Programme (30 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The updating of the Investment Limited Partnership Act, 1994 is a priority on the Government's legislative programme and, one of the strategic priorities in the recently published Ireland for Finance strategy document. The drafting of the amendments to the Act has been recently completed. It is my intention to bring forward the draft Bill to Government in the coming weeks to seek...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (30 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 55 together. I am advised by Revenue that the annual cost of the Research and Development (R&D) tax credit and the number of companies that availed of it for years up to 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, is published on the Revenue website at the following link: . The available information in respect of multinational and...