Results 1,841-1,860 of 7,789 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2017: Motion (21 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Would the Department be willing to put in the money if the IHRA were to have that work done within whatever number of months?

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I support Deputy Donnelly's amendment. The irony of this is that if the people affected, the so-called accidental landlords who are being screwed at the moment, were to miss one payment, the vulture funds to whom their loans were sold on would end up with tax breaks. Vulture funds are getting tax breaks and are paying only €400 or €500 on millions in profits but the people to...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Most Deputies will agree with a vacant home tax in principle. We need to keep an eye on a certain matter, though, especially in respect of rural parts of Ireland where, for example, an elderly person's family member built a house that is no longer in great nick. If we do not include provisos to address situations like that, we will be levying taxes on people who receive no benefit from the...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: We need to deal with repossessed properties which were in a person’s name but are now owned by banks. Such properties are not transferred and are being left idle for a long time. People were thrown out on the road, while at the same time properties were being left idle for a year or 18 months. We should be mindful of that issue and ensure we give banks engaged in such practices as...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: There is merit in the two amendments. We can have a go at the Government but it may have tried something it genuinely thought would help people. I am not saying it was or it was not and there are question marks over it. It is important, especially before we have another budget, for a report to be done to analyse either its good or bad elements. There is no point in doing something that...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Will the Minster put a figure on what he expects to receive as a result of changing this? I support Deputy Wallace. I know his amendment was ruled out of order, and that is shameful. There were parts of the budget which were trying to haul in money from our own. If we thought we could get money from some of these types of big businesses, we should do it sooner rather than the date in the...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: How much will the measure bring in?

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I have been in once.

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I will be brief. What sort of figure does the Minister expect to achieve when he closes the loophole? Is giving them until the beginning of 2019 not like telling someone who is going to get flooded to leave the house? Are we not telling them something well in advance and flagging it to them so that they can do something to counteract it? It is an unusual way of doing it. If the Minister...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I support the amendment. The previous Government, with the then Secretary General of the Department of Finance, Mr. Moran, took a decision to openly invite vulture companies to invest here. We decided to sell the country when things were bad and we are trying to buy it back now that it has become expensive. The vulture funds are here to make a quick buck. Lives have been lost as a result...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The first day I came into the House there was a discussion on equalisation of the rebate for farmers and the self-employed, and it was announced that they would get €1,600 back over a three-year period. It was disappointing to note in the budget that the figure for this year is approximately €250. A commitment was given for a three-year process, which has not happened. On...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I did not hear anybody talk about whether rural Ireland was good or bad. We were talking about a suite of measures to deal with volatility and to keep farmers going. The current suite of measures is not good enough for what we need and are facing. The Minister of State knows the dairy sector, but it is like the crest of a wave. With the forces coming, in the beef sector or dairy, we have...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: In the whole debate we need to be mindful that we are an island. We are on the playing field with countries like France. We hear people from such places shouting one thing out of their mouths on a given day to the effect that they want harmonisation, but they are the same people who actually give lower tax rates to certain entities. Ireland has to fight for business because we are on the...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I support Deputy Doherty's amendment. It is intolerable that Irish taxpayers who bailed out these banks are in some cases being thrown out of their houses by these same banks, ruthlessly and without mercy. These banks decided to sell on debts to vulture funds which treat these people even worse than the banks had and now we are to give them a rolling tax break as long as they like, to let...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: As the previous speaker put it, these banks are running riot all the time. I urge the Minister of State to ensure that there is not one law for the banking community and another for the rest. Banks are companies. If we make an arrangement for one company and set a precedent for that company to get away with X, Y or Z, then why not do it for every other company throughout the country that...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Deputy Mattie McGrath and I put down an amendment on Committee Stage to highlight this problem and said that many farms are fragmented. In fairness to the Minister he asked us to withdraw the amendment and said that he would table an amendment on Report Stage and I acknowledge what he has done because this is very important for the farming community. I hope that people who are interested in...

Finance Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I agree with the last speaker that a sugar tax is a good thing. I agree with what the Government is doing. We should ensure the money raised is put into education and health. Better education will help our youngsters, and our grown-ups in some cases, to use better food and to avoid these soft drinks. I will oppose the amendment. I commend the Government on what it has done.

Finance Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I commend Deputy Michael McGrath on tabling this amendment. There are community centres all over the country where people voluntarily cook food and provide different types of activities for people who would not see another person were it not for the community centres and the services they provide. As was rightly pointed out earlier, some of the people concerned may not be without a limb but...

Finance Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I commend the Minister of State on what he has said. In every part of the country this is one of the problems Deputies have faced. I thank him for giving this because, while it is small thing, it is important and helps communities throughout the country. While the Minister of State might not be able to do so, he might clarify for those who have sent in paperwork during this transitional...

Finance Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2017)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I agree with the amendment. It was 1984 when the thresholds were revised, which was 33 years ago. We penalise a kid for growing too tall or being a bit heavier than other children. This issue needs to be examined, given that the current approach is not working. Deputy Michael McGrath has been fair in how he has tabled this amendment, and I ask the Minister to agree to it.