Results 27,461-27,480 of 35,959 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I would love to go into more detail with Mr. Davitt but the Chairman is pressing me for time. What should be the appropriate loan to value ratio for a mortgage? It is probably the basis for a wider debate. Should it be 95% regardless of who insures it? This is the real question. I wish to touch on several other major issues identified in one of the presentations. Serious concerns have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I agree in terms of the social dividend, but it was a late night clause included in the NAMA legislation. It was a sop to the Opposition to be able to say NAMA would be used for the social good. The Houses of the Oireachtas set up NAMA and will dismantle it when it believes its time is up. We can actually change the priorities of NAMA if we want to do so, given the fact that everybody has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The Government announced a revision of Part 5 of its 2020 strategy. My fear is that it will be watered down. In some of the submissions it has been stated it should be revised and strengthened. Is any of the delegates concerned that Part 5 could be diluted? It was diluted many years ago. How important is it in dealing with the problems?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I refer to the tax incentives for landlords who make their properties available to those deemed homeless. I am not against tax incentives, but the Irish way of dealing with things is that if there is a problem, we throw a tax incentive at it to see if it will work. This is not a good way to deal with the issue. On the tax incentives identified such as capital gains tax, capital...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I am not 100% convinced by the IPAV proposal, but we would need to look at it more deeply. This is all about throwing out different ideas to examine them. My party examines all options. On the rent-a-room scheme, I am not sure how successfully it is working. Perhaps the IPAV might enlighten us. The proposal suggests anything above the €10,000 limit should be liable for tax. If...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: What is the rental price of a room in Dublin currently?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Is that the average price?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: If the average price is €200 per month in Dublin, anybody charging the average price cannot avail of the rent-a-room scheme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: If somebody is renting a room all year round, he or she will be above the threshold.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: That is my point. The point is that if somebody is a tenant all year round and paying the average rent, the scheme is not available to the landlord.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Simon has presented figures on the Government's estimate of 4,500 units from NAMA which indicate that 518 of them were transferred to social housing. This demonstrates the painfully slow rate of progress that has been made on an issue we have been discussing for quite some time. We are probably watching the wind-down of NAMA as we speak, even though that is not the best outcome. In terms...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I always enjoy the statistics that illustrate just how far Ireland really is from being a low tax economy and a good table was provided that supports this as it shows the billions of euro required from additional taxes. Refundable tax credits present a reverse option because they mean less income for the State from tax. Have the criteria for refundable tax credits that were published by the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Is there any other jurisdiction that provides a refundable tax credit?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I am familiar with the history. The courts have rightly enforced on the HSE that it end the exploitation of its home care workers through the use of zero-hour contracts, which followed on from a successful campaign by SIPTU in that regard. In my view, HSE home care workers are no longer being exploited. Are the 6,000 Home and Community Care Ireland, HCCI, staff still being exploited...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: In Mr. Harty's view private providers, whether providing applies or oranges, are unsure of how many customers will come across their thresholds and that until such time as they can be satisfied with the situation in terms of supply and demand zero-hour contracts are necessary. However, they are exploitative to workers. That is the reason the High Court ruled against the HSE. This is wrong....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that but I need to move on. Mr. Hanan spoke about an adequate minimum income for all and put forward a proposal in this regard for this year. Perhaps he would elaborate on what in his view is an adequate minimum income and how it would be structured.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: It is sensible to allow for the required level to be reached over a particular number of years. I thank the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for its presentation. Reference was made in the presentation to water poverty and the introduction next year of water charges disproportionately hitting low income groups. Reference was also made to the introduction of measures to protect low income...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I thank Ms O'Sullivan for her excellent presentation on behalf of FLAC. I agree with her remarks in regard to how the budgetary process is dealt with. When is FLAC's shadow report expected to be published? Ms O'Sullivan might also comment on the important or unimportance of the move in the Houses of the Oireachtas to equality budgeting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I thank our guests for their very detailed submissions. They contain a wealth of information and statistics and are presented in a very understandable fashion. Irish Rural Link's submission contains a number of interesting proposals. I wish to focus, however, on the issue of a stimulus for villages and towns. The submission refers to the closure of Garda stations, post offices and banks....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: What vehicle would facilitate this? Would it be a particular Department or an agency?