Results 22,601-22,620 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 want to have a housing market in which first-time and any other individual buyers have a chance to buy a home at an affordable level, but there is another side to the coin. REITs allowed us, in particular at a time of great economic difficulty, to get to a point where we had professionalised our rental sector to a greater extent. That means rental accommodation being provided in our...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Responsibilities (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: There are two Ministers of State appointed to the Department of Finance: - Deputy Michael D'Arcy is Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for Financial Services and Insurance; and - Deputy Patrick O’Donovan is Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Ombudsman Data (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Firstly, I must point out that the Financial Services Ombudsman is independent in the carrying out of his duties.  I have no role in the day to day workings of the office. However, the Financial Services Ombudsman has informed me that the number of complaints made to the Financial Services Ombudsman since the passing of recent legislation amending the six year rule is 76. Of those...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Vehicle Registration Data (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 87 together. I am informed by Revenue that the number of new motor homes registered in each of the years from 2009 to 2016 and to date in 2017 is provided in the following table: Year Total 2009 190 2010 231 2011 35 2012 34 2013 34 2014 45 2015 55 2016 95 2017 (to date) 120 Motor homes are classed as Category B vehicles and therefore are...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department is currently reviewing the tax revenue forecasts for 2018 and later years in the context of preparations for Budget 2018. As part of this process, the White Paper on the estimates of Receipts and Expenditure (the "White Paper") will be published in advance of the Budget 2018, and will contain a tax revenue forecast for the forthcoming year based on a position of no-policy...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2017 outlined an amount of €0.3bn to be allocated from the Lansdowne Road Agreement and €0.2bn from the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 in 2018.  The allocation of these central provisions to Departments, in line with our obligations under the EU fiscal rules, is a matter that is subject to ongoing assessment in the context...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministerial Responsibilities (27 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: There are three Ministers of State appointed to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: - Deputy Patrick O’Donovan is Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment; - Deputy Michael D'Arcy is Minister of State at the Department of Finance and...

Other Questions: Vacant Sites Data (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The information I have indicates that the State property register has basic details on over 24,000 properties. According to the March read of this information, there are 92 vacant OPW properties. Those are properties that are directly managed by the State. I will see if I can get information for the Deputy regarding every other property. I am only responsible at this stage for the OPW...

Other Questions: Public Services Card (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The record of the House will show that the Deputy made accusations about the honesty and faithfulness with which this card was rolled out,-----

Other Questions: Public Services Card (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: -----and I called those out for that they were. The Deputy is not the only person in the House who is motivated by good intentions and is trying to find ways of ensuring that public services are made available-----

Other Questions: Public Services Card (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: -----to people in more efficient ways. Deputy Connolly made a set of accusations that I rebutted. She has made claims about this being a national identity card, which I reject and are unfounded in any comment that I or the Government has made. We are making this card available so that public services can be better provided to people with a view to ensuring that they do not have to supply...

Other Questions: Vacant Sites Data (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government's property asset management delivery plan, "Accommodating Change - Measuring Success", was published in July 2013 with the main objective of managing "the Public Service property portfolio in a professional, co-ordinated and efficient manner". The OPW, with its chairman as the delivery plan’s senior responsible officer, has led these changes across the public service...

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Clearly Brexit will pose significant challenges for Ireland. The Government is committed to addressing these challenges, mitigating the impacts and taking the best advantage of available opportunities. Last May, the Government published a document setting out in detail its approach to Brexit and the structures it had put in place to ensure a strategic and whole-of-Government response to it....

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: In terms of the broader action the Government is taking, this is the reason we are aiming to introduce a budget that will increase capital investment in a number of important areas of the economy. While we intend to do this work in any case, the challenge posed by Brexit makes it even more necessary. We will follow up on the budget with a ten-year national capital plan to be published in...

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The British Prime Minister, Ms Theresa May, articulated recent developments in her speech on Friday last. While a significant amount of work remains to be done and there will be difficult negotiations later this year, the renewed focus of the British Prime Minister on a transitional period and its duration and the focus the United Kingdom is now placing on customs policy are important...

Other Questions: Public Services Card (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: We do have legislation for this project. The Social Welfare Act to which I referred has been revisited on many occasions and provides the legislative foundation for this Bill. What I referred to earlier was separate legislation which will address the use and sharing of data in future as the opportunities and need to share them increase. The Bill has a firm legislative footing in section...

Other Questions: Public Services Card (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy has made an appalling series of allegations and accused Ministers and the Oireachtas of engaging with this issue in a dishonest way. My understanding of the Deputy's political philosophy is that she favours the State having a role in trying to provide better services for people. I would, therefore, have expected her to favour the State having a role in trying to provide such...

Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme Review (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am sorry that my words did not fill the Deputy with hope. What might have filled her with hope is that we are finally making progress on the national children's hospital-----

Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme Review (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: -----and the fact that work is under way on this. It is a project for which the Deputy well understands the need. Funding was set aside for it but additional funding had to be identified and made available to deliver the project, which I did precisely because I recognised the need to support projects such as this. I understand fully what future investment we may need to make in the...

Other Questions: Freedom of Information Remit (26 Sep 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Freedom of Information Act 2014 introduced a modernised, consolidated, restructured and more accessible system. It repealed the 1997 and 2003 freedom of information Acts. The Act extends freedom of information to all public bodies and automatically includes newly established bodies, unless specifically exempt. As part of the analysis and consultation during development of the...