Results 26,561-26,580 of 35,894 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I revert to some of the questions I asked earlier. To return to the issue of contract manufacturing, there is annualised growth of 2.5%, but this is based on six month figures. Has the council projected to where it will be at the end of the year? What component will contract manufacturing make up in the 4.7% growth rate anticipated this year? That is the way we calculate growth rates, but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: But at about 2.2%.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I have another question. Professor McHale will be aware that the CSO refused or clamped down on the Government's attempt to take the €250 million equity investment in Irish Water off the Government's balance sheet. It is back on the Government's balance sheet because it claimed Irish Water had been established on 1 October 2014. The council did not raise any concern about this. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: None of us will know probably until March next year. When the Minister toyed with the idea of tax relief, when questioned in the Dáil he mentioned that if the tax relief was to be given at source, it would fail. That is because it would be seen as a Government subsidy to Irish Water, but if it were to be clawed back, it is likely it would not be seen by EUROSTAT as a Government...

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The previous speaker talked in glowing terms about how water infrastructure in the North of Ireland was interconnected, modern and efficient. He did not mention that over the course of three years €1 billion was invested in that, and he also omitted to say that a Sinn Féin Minister oversaw that process, and that that Sinn Féin Minister stopped water charges from being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome the members of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. I had not intended to ask this particular question but, given that Professor McHale raised the matter to which it refers, I will do so now. He referred to the fact that on several occasions over recent months the question has been raised as to whether the Council feels its advice is being ignored. He also referred to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I agree with Professor McHale on that matter and I commend the council on the reports and analyses it produces. I do not always agree with the council's recommendations, particularly in light of certain factors relating to the impact that those recommendations could have on people's lives. However, there is no doubt that the council has provided a wealth of information which has informed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: That is fine. Sometimes it is unfair to simplify matters when discussing this issue. However, the current opinion is that the council is being critical of or, indeed, whingeing about the fact that the Government is not listening to its recommendations. However, Professor McHale has indicated his opinion to the effect that the Government is not ignoring those recommendations and that the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Do I only have one minute left?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report - November 2014: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Time flies when one is having fun. The council plays a key role in the context of public information and education. Will Professor McHale explain whether the growth of 2.5% in GDP in contract manufacturing is real growth? When we talk about figures, in terms of the economy having grown by 4%, and say we must all be doing well, we must realise some of it may not be real growth. There has...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 70. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to review the Disabled Drivers and Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994, SI 353 of 1994, with a view to allowing upper limb amputees avail of the scheme. [46604/14]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Rate (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 74. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to amend the rate at which the local property tax is levied or to amend the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46692/14]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Scheme Eligibility (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 96. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will reconsider the requirement that 50% of farmers on a commonage must agree to sign up to a management plan to participate in the GLAS scheme; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this requirement is posing an unnecessary hurdle for farmers, preventing many from joining the scheme; and if he will make a statement...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Applications (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 100. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to explain the reason for the delay in processing a payment under the single farm payment and disadvantaged area scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46684/14]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Payments (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 101. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the reason for the delay in processing the remainder of a payment under the agri-environment options scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46685/14]

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Flood Prevention Measures (4 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: 214. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she is satisfied with the delay in reinstating a sea defence wall in Ards, Creeslough, County Donegal which was destroyed by storms; if she is further satisfied with her Department's stance on having the reinstatement delayed due to planning restrictions and red tape being imposed by her Department; if her attention has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Joint Committee
General Scheme of Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill 2014: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The whistleblowers who supplied the dossier to the Central Bank are a number of agents who felt under immense pressure from the company to engage in the type of activities against which the Central Bank has found. I hope the case is not over because other areas need to be delved into. Where a servicer which has a contract with a financial institution to service loans, whether in arrears or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Joint Committee
General Scheme of Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill 2014: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: If a financial institution outsourced the servicing of its loan book to an entity, is it common practice to employ a company in this regard for the duration? Using the example of AIB, although it is regulated, say AIB sold its loan book to Certus for a five-year period and Certus was dealing with me, as an AIB customer. After the contract ran out, say AIB engaged a different servicing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Joint Committee
General Scheme of Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill 2014: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: May I ask the witnesses a question? I will understand if they cannot give an opinion on it because it is taking them down a line that is not clear in respect of the legislation or its intention. In the context of how the application of this proposal would mean it would be the responsibility of the servicers, the Central Bank has just adjudicated on the Provident moneylending scandal and in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Joint Committee
General Scheme of Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill 2014: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Is this not precisely the case in respect of a moneylender? I assume all moneylenders operate the same case. It is the moneylender, in this case Provident, which lends money and which takes in the money. It is the agents who service it, who go to the house and collect the fee. It is the agents who collect payment. Is this not dealing with the exact same thing albeit on a more micro level...