Results 2,561-2,580 of 5,388 for speaker:John Deasy

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: I do not expect Mr. O'Leary to second guess the reasons the IDA has been successful; I expect him to come up with other reasons to be more successful.

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: Based on these comments if I thought Mr. O'Leary was developing a conscience about issues raised by US Senate members or others within the European Commission I do not think he should be in the position he is in. He needs to drive on and find other reasons companies locate here. To consider anything otherwise is naive and, frankly, disingenuous because the public understands the reasons...

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: I spent the past couple of days in Budapest where I met Enterprise Ireland, Irish business individuals, the Prime Minister, the President, Ministers and others. The meeting with the Prime Minister was interesting. He was very clear about where he felt his assets lay with regard to attracting industry. He underlined technical ability in the young workforce as a huge asset. It is a very...

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: How are we doing with regard to talent?

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: The witnesses coming before this committee are in a very difficult position; the Secretary General of a Department here does not exactly compete with the Secretary General of a similar department in France, but I know when I ask Mr. O'Leary a question he does not want to state we have a problem here. He needs to be careful with regard to how he expresses where we are because it is a...

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: That is right.

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: Mr. O'Leary commented that it was not working. How has it changed and what input has the IDA had with the Department in the intervening period?

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: So they are not working. This is the point. I agree with Mr. O'Leary's comment; I know they are not working.

Public Accounts Committee: Annual Report and Accounts 2012: Discussion with IDA Ireland (19 Sep 2013)

John Deasy: I welcome Mr. O'Leary and his colleagues. That was an interesting exchange with Deputy Shane Ross, beginning by outlining his view that it was undeniable that IDA Ireland had been and was very successful and then questioning the reasons for that being the case. I did not know what to make of it. As someone who worked on the issue of the US Senate finance committee dealing with trade, I am...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: I think the Chairman is spot on - that is the issue. Obviously, Ms McLaughlin was not at the meeting I attended at the Department during the week. It was acknowledged then that no one is spearheading this in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Finance, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: On the third point, I do not believe Mr. Lavelle answered the question. I will try to answer it for him and tell him what is happening: when tenants inherit a rates bill on renting a vacant property, the procedure is arbitrary from local authority to local authority. Some local authorities are writing off the arrears in order that the town and county will not lose the business, while in...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: I do not accept the rental value argument when it comes to retail properties versus manufacturing and industrial properties because of what I know about what is happening not only in the retail sector but also in small businesses and pubs. The way manufacturing and industrial properties can see a sizeable reduction in rates compared to small businesses in small towns which are seeing...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: Mr. O'Sullivan might let me finish the point. There is new legislation and a new system. Mr. O'Sullivan's interpretation differs from mine in terms of what is and what is not new and we should wait in that respect. We should all examine issues such as arrears and the reason it is the case that arrears are being written off in some local authorities and not in others. As I said to Mr....

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: Yes, fair enough, but the role of the Government is to interact with Mr. O'Sullivan to find out what is going on and what he has found. Perhaps it is a different question.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: I will finish on this note. It is welcome that I had a meeting with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform this week. In the next few months my understanding is that the Department will get together with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and examine the issues surrounding everything about which we have spoken today, the legislation that has been...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: That is not my understanding of it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: Once the new Bill is enacted, will those businesses which are being revalued at the moment be able to reassess?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: Yes, but is it envisaged that such businesses will be in a position to reassess? This is a point I have raised before in regard to the legislation. I am concerned that we might have a situation where one set of businesses in a particular local authority area is assessed under one system but, once the law is passed, another set of businesses is assessed under a different system.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 15 - Valuation Office (18 Jul 2013)

John Deasy: That is all fine. However, the question I asked is whether businesses that are being revalued under the existing legislation will be allowed to self-assess under the new system that comes into force when the new Bill is enacted, which could be as soon as early next year.