Results 27,081-27,100 of 35,894 for speaker:Pearse Doherty
- Mortgage Arrears: Motion [Private Members] (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: I welcome the motion atá curtha chun tosaigh ag an nGrúpa Teicniúil i dtaobh an cheist rí-thábhachtach seo. Earlier this year members of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, of which I am a member, helped to draft a report on what should be done to tackle our mortgage crisis. The report received all-party support and the support of the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: I appreciate all of that. I just wanted to look at the figures because I know time will be against me here. I have raised the issue of retroactive recapitalisation umpteen times with the Minister and we will probably have the same debate about it now. I was involved in negotiations at St. Andrews and have been on the fringes of other negotiations and I know how a lot of this works. I...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: I have heard that before and I would just say that-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: It is a very good point, yes, but does the Minister know who runs AIB at this point in time? The Minister does.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: Yes, the Minister does.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: Yes, the Minister is the shareholder and the scenario would be the same, with the ESM being the shareholder if the Minister were to transfer those shares to it. AIB would still have a board, however, which would run the bank. I suggest the Minister's analogy, while it sounds very good, does not stack up in practice. Perhaps the ESM would have more experience in running banks than the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: Perhaps the Minister should speak to some of the people who have been evicted by those banks about his interest. They might present him with a different scenario.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: It is not dirt. It is the reality for people who are homeless as a result of this.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: That is an absolute insult. I got a phone call two weeks ago from someone who is homeless and who has been living in hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation in Roscommon. He was evicted from his house by a bank which foreclosed on him. The local authority has told him that it can no longer afford to keep him in that type of emergency accommodation. That person was on national...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: The question really is-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: I hope it was an oversight on the part of the new Chairman that he called Deputy O'Donnell first. It has always been the practice in the committee that when the Minister is before us, the Opposition speaks first.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: I will pick up on the latest issue. The recalculation of our contribution based on our GDP under the European System of National and Regional Accounts, ESA 2010, rules is €6.5 million. This is the combined contribution based on reclassification in recent years.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: It is based on ESA95.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: It is the entire contribution as a result of the reclassification; it is a cumulation of the reclassification over recent years.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: The UK has obviously followed the same procedure as we have in terms of the reclassification of GDP. We were one of the first countries in Europe to do it and our bill is €6.5 million, while that of the UK is £1.7 billion or €2 billion. With regard to the UK's position, I noted what David Cameron stated, and I am sure as Prime Minister he chose his words very carefully....
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: I understand it is a matter of treaty law. My point is while the British stated they definitely would not pay it within the timeframe, they also opened a wider debate on how it is calculated. I appreciate it was reached through negotiation. The reason I ask is that I questioned the Minister previously on how our EU contributions are calculated and the fact that they are based on GNI. I...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: Which suggests they are not-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. Obviously this is in a wider context. Yesterday, Angela Merkel made a statement on Britain's demands on the free movement of persons and the referendum which will take place. This is why it is not just a case of financial consideration. There is also the implication of how the British people will vote in the referendum and the impact it will have on our own fortunes....
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: The European Economic Forecast for Ireland for autumn 2014 is very positive. Obviously the forecast is not as positive with regard to the Continent. The stagnation is very worrying and has impacts for us as a trading partner. What jumped out at me from the economic forecast for autumn 2014, which predicts a general government deficit of 2.9% of GDP, and I know the Government is looking at...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-ECOFIN Briefing: Minister for Finance (4 Nov 2014)
Pearse Doherty: Yes.