Results 22,561-22,580 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I just refer to them as that.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The reason for this policy is to reflect the fact that health policy and evidence in this regard show major benefits to our society, particularly its younger members, if large amounts of sugar`sweetened drinks are not consumed. The way in which the matter is measured and viewed by ourselves and other countries is in terms of the amount of sugar contained in a sweetened drink.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is something I welcome. It lessens some of the negative health impacts we are trying to address because it reduces the consumption levels of many of these drinks. It proves the merit of what we are trying to do. We are introducing this measure. It is one of the few measures on which I have been crystal clear, given it was flagged in last year's budget in anticipation of drink...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It will apply to sweetened drinks that have sugar in them.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It played a valuable role at a point in time in the creation and retention of jobs.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes. The measure is under consideration by me and others. I have made no decision on the matter. I will announce what we will do on budget day. It does not matter how short the Deputy's questions are. That is the stance that I am adopting on all taxation measures. Any statement from me now on an individual measure has consequences.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As a former Minister for tourism, I was heavily involved in the sector at the time. I do not believe the measure contributed to a change in working circumstances or incomes in the sector. Given where we were in the economic cycle, it played a positive role in the creation and retention of jobs. I will now examine the economic evidence surrounding that tax rate and, as with every other...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The changes in hotel rates in Dublin send out a signal regarding the competitiveness of our country and the ability of people to come and visit us. When I was Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I made the point that if trends that were evident then continued, it would cause a difficulty for us in the future. However, I also stated that I understood that the reassessing of price...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am having very intense discussions with every Government Department at the moment. When the Taoiseach introduced the concept of hidden fiscal space, he was talking about savings that could be delivered in terms of efficiencies and making sure we can provide existing services better. That led to the publication of papers in the comprehensive spending review, which looked at every...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Every Government Department is in that vessel with me.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the vessel has a price tag of €60 billion, I am not sure if it is particularly heavy. We spend a huge amount of money on the delivery of additional and current services. I do not want to get too lost in discussion of vessels, heavy vessels, fiscal space or hidden fiscal space. One of the things I regret about the focus on fiscal space is that we always have a look at the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Given that I am dealing with Government Departments, my expectation is that if and when we make savings or identify ways in which services can be better delivered, they are reinvested back within those Government Departments. Any resource choices that I make overall will be consistent with the 2:1 split between expenditure and taxation that has been agreed between the Government and Deputy...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It will be ongoing until the last moment.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: On the status of the live register and projections for it, it is a completely different thing from the discussion we are having on the so-called hidden fiscal space. The Deputy is correct about the forecast for the live register. We look at this point in the year for next year. In response to the questions Deputy Lahart put to me a moment ago, I tried to explain that the hidden fiscal...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: That is correct.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Regarding tax efficiency and the closure of loopholes, the Deputy described it very accurately as a chess game. One makes one change and the next day another change happens that offsets it. That is the reason I am being careful about what I say here today. I have already approved for the finance Bill a number of changes for that Bill to deal with our understanding of a number of issues...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I will not be lacking in courage in trying to deal with issues that I believe need to be dealt with. I was addressing my comments in regard to the Deputy's proposals for minimum corporation tax rates and minimum tax rates for individuals as opposed to point that she made about tax expenditures and loopholes. I would be very happy to work with the committee, either in the context of the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: That is why we have a bank levy.