Results 20,221-20,240 of 35,829 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 40:In page 43, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:“22. The Minister shall, as soon as the appropriate data becomes available but not more than within eighteen months of the passing of this Act and every twelve months thereafter, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the effectiveness of the provisions in this Act which are intended...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: On the substance of the amendment, we seem to have gone off course a bit. There is an investigation by the charities regulator. However, there is also a need for a Government commitment to this issue, not from a taxation point of view but from a broader sense of justice point of view. Deputy Stephen Donnelly described how these are real charities which give some money to funds, although...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: While I had not planned to speak until I introduced my next amendment, I will do so in light of the focus on charities, which is an issue I raised some time ago. I welcome the Minister's statement because I never claimed that the charitable status of section 110 companies was in any way used to reduce their tax liability. As the record will show, I made it clear that the reasons for seeking...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: The Committee on Budgetary Oversight would be the appropriate committee, but that is neither here nor there. In the spirit of the Minister's reply and accepting that his officials will provide us with something comprehensive, not just a speaking note with an extra wee paragraph added to the end, I will withdraw the amendment.

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister's reply is a good argument as to why we need the report. I do not intend to go in to all detail. This is complex, but it is not black or white. It is not an either-or and there can be an in between. I do not suggest we get rid of all carry forward of the losses, although that would be desirable because the State would be in a better position if we did not have to recapitalise...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: My amendment No. 26 is similar to Deputy Joan Burton's amendment but it is focused on restricting banks and financial institutions. We dealt with it on Committee Stage and I do not intend to go over it again because I assume we will be here till the very early hours of the morning at this rate. Given that on the current figures we will have less than €600 million available for...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett is learning from the Minister in getting the last bite. The Minister always comes in with something.

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: We debated this on Committee Stage and I made a contribution. Every year for the past number of years I have tabled an amendment to the Finance Bill similar to that tabled by Deputy Boyd Barrett. I mentioned on Committee Stage the ongoing work announced earlier in the year. This has been dragging out. I agree with Deputy Burton there are legitimate self-employed people and nobody is...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: There are very valid arguments with regard to this. The issue of a report is something we should never turn our faces against. It allows us to reach a more informed decision. As we are dealing with drivers in this regard, I take this opportunity to highlight a concern relating to one of the best pieces of technology I have seen in a long time from any Department, namely, the Revenue...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: By the time that the review is done, not one property will have been built that was not already intended to be built. There is at least a two-year lead-in period comprising planning permission, site development, construction and sale. No property will have come on board as a result of this scheme by the time that the review is undertaken. I hope that I am wrong, but the independent...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: While I support the amendment, the proposal is much different from that which I advocated on Committee Stage. To produce a report on the impact of a scheme on house prices one year after it has been introduced is to do things arseways. The Government should have made the analysis of the impact of the measure on property prices before its introduction. The Minister informed us that he had...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome the amendment, which is a result of an amendment tabled by Deputy Burton on Committee Stage and will expand the scheme to local government properties. It is probably regrettable that we are in a situation whereby an amendment like this has to be proposed. I will support the amendment, but it should not be the norm. The normal practice is that if houses are owned by local...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: The purpose of the series of amendments in my name is identical to the purpose of the amendment that has just been proposed by Deputy Joan Burton. I tabled the same amendment on Committee Stage and we had a discussion on it then. I will summarise the argument for it. For many years, the finance code has allowed reduced penalties to be imposed on individuals who come forward voluntarily to...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome that this loophole will be closed and the way this has happened. In private discussions with the Department's officials, I suggested restricting it to the principal dwelling. With regard to Deputy Burton's amendment, there is value in putting a report together as we need to learn from the past. The information put on the record is new and it is worth quantifying just what has...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: We dealt with this in detail on Committee Stage. The Minister was unable to be there but the Minister of State stepped in for him. The Minister will know that I welcomed the provision on Second Stage because we were conscious of the Commission's view. It is appropriate that we, in this House, take the relevant actions instead of others forcing our hand to do so. The Minister spoke...

Finance Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I add our support for the amendment. We need to see substantial progress. Work has been done outside the Government on examining the issue. On Committee Stage, I said I was raising it when I was elected to the Seanad in 2007, and we are still raising it. This week I was contacted by a local Donegal charity which is doing great work transporting cancer patients to Galway. When the charity...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Debt (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: 76. To ask the Minister for Finance if lifetime mortgages are classified as housing loans for the purposes of the Credit Consumer Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36438/16]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Regulation (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: 77. To ask the Minister for Finance the legal impact of an inclusion where a loan cannot be subject to a cooling off period waiver and such a waiver has been included in the contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36439/16]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: 83. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a request for an alternative school drop off point was refused for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36446/16]

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (23 Nov 2016)

Pearse Doherty: 105. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider making changes to eligibility rules governing the carer's allowance payment in respect of the requirement that recipients must not be engaged in education and-or training for periods longer than 15 hours per week; if consideration will be given to relaxing this requirement for persons that opt for care sharing, which enables...