Results 20,401-20,420 of 36,355 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: The answer, therefore, is "No".

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: No, my-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, that is fair.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I know and I appreciate that.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I just want clarification as to whether the savings inefficiencies were solely directed at the pay bill. That is all. This is not confrontational at this point in time. It may get there. Hold on.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Regarding the budget which the Minister presented to the House and which his Ministers presented to the different committees, were efficiencies and savings identified in budget 2017? If so, what was the quantum of efficiencies and savings targeted?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Why did the Minister not identify an efficiency figure? Did he think there were no inefficiencies or did he decide not to look for efficiencies?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Could the Minister explain that to me again? I am talking about budget 2017. In budget 2017, which he presented to the House, he did not target any efficiencies.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Could the Minister speak to me about the spending review? It will be executed this year.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister has now identified a target of efficiencies and savings that must be required as a result of the decision announced earlier today. I want to repeat this because other members have said it. I am not interested at this point in time in the merits of the decision, good, bad or indifferent. I am not interested in whether things would be worse three months later or whether the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I did not say that. With respect, I said "at this point". The Minister may try to deflect from what we are supposed to do, but let me explain what it says on the tin: "budgetary scrutiny committee". We must scrutinise not only the policy decisions of Government but also, crucially, the expenditure and the tax areas. The Minister accepts that. Therefore, we would be in dereliction of our...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Many of us warned before the budget that there were issues in respect of public sector pay. My colleague, Deputy Cullinane, has raised that with the Minister on many occasions and it was ignored. The Minister presented a budget here and asked the Oireachtas to approve a budget. He now suggests that the Government was going to find savings anyway and was not going to spend that amount of...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: No.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I would have a proposal to raise revenue. That is the difference.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: A key thing that this committee has to do is scrutinise policy positions prior to them being enacted. That is why, for example, the Department of Finance is releasing the tax strategy papers to us before the tax strategy is announced on budget day, and so on. The Minister is familiar with this. Let me put the question to him again. There is no doubt in my mind, or maybe he can tell me I...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Without a doubt, but let us scrutinise it now.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Revised): Discussion (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: It is not the spending review. I want to know if there is any paper which suggests how the Minister can save €120 million. That is what the committee wants to know and that is what the questions were leading to earlier on. The Department must have provided the Minister with a paper suggesting this is possible and these are the areas where it is possible.

Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Last week, many of us watched the television programme, "The Great Irish Sell-off", which clearly showed how deeply the vultures' claws have gone into the State. The programme pointed out that 90,000 home mortgages had been sold by the banks to vulture funds. Today's Irish Independenthas reports that hundreds of farmers are concerned that the vultures are about to swoop on them and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Portfolio (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 44. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will propose an amendment to the NAMA legislation to allow NAMA to play a greater role in the provision of social housing and housing in general; and if he will direct NAMA to carry out an audit of all its properties to ascertain which assets might be suitable for housing. [1735/17]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU Issues (17 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 57. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will make a request to a company (details supplied) that it attend the upcoming finance committee hearings on the EU state aid ruling related to the company and Ireland. [1736/17]