Results 2,881-2,900 of 35,549 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: As a result of the board resigning en masse the consultant could not fulfil his or her position and, therefore, the National Rehabilitation Hospital must pick up this bill because the person is employed to do important work for the hospital, which did not have a funding stream. This is the case that has been resolved.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The salary of this consultant is in the region of €230,000. Is this as a result of the work he or she was doing for the NRH or was there an uplift in the salary as a result of the work he or she was doing for the board?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. With regard to Vote 9 and the Revenue Commissioners, there are a number of changes, mainly driven by a significant net capital overspend of €47 million. There is also a non-pay overspend of approximately €12 million. Will the Minister start with the non-pay element? It is almost a 10% overspend. Will he explain what is driving the non-pay part? Is it...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Minister have a breakdown of this €12 million? How much is in consultancy? How much is in IT? I am not sure whether this has been shared with us. I do not have it before me.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: What would that-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Obviously very good work has been done by Revenue and other agencies on these issues. I want to focus on the capital overspend. There is €51 million for Brexit infrastructure capital, which the Minister has outlined is for Rosslare Europort in the main. Surely some of this was foreseen. Estimates were prepared this time last year, or perhaps it was earlier this year. This is not...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I understand that it is part of our application as regards the BAR, which will be decided on at the end of the project when the money is expended. I imagine, however, that that is just not good budgeting, particularly when we come to the House to look at Estimates for this year and the Minister is telling me his Department knew there would be significant additional expenditure and it was not...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I understand that, but if 35% of it was going to fall with Revenue, and not to split hairs on this, there should have been an allocation of something. It is a significant amount of spending.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: It is 10% of the overall budget we agreed earlier this year and it will increase, obviously. There is more for next year. Even though we are likely to recoup that through the BAR, I think it should be included. The final question I will ask the Minister about the Estimates relates to Revenue. We had this discussion in the context of the finance Bill and we talked about the increase in...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: We talked about the pinch point where you drive more into the illicit market, the illegal market, and more sales from outside the State in the form of duty-free. The Minister helpfully provided the figures which show there is trend there. I will make the point again that I am very concerned that the illegal cigarette market is normalised. It is acceptable. You go to any pub or any...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, please.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome that. Finally, as regards the point the Minister makes about welcoming and being open to consideration of any additional powers, if 17% of cigarettes that are consumed are illicit, that means that one in six cigarettes smoked in this State is illegal and smuggled into the State through organised crime groups. I imagine that those organised crime groups are not just involved in...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I thank the Minister.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Irregularities (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: 124. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on recent statistics published by An Garda Síochána regarding the 77% increase in cases of investment fraud this year; the measures his Department is considering to respond to the rise in financial fraud and authorised push payment scams; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51433/23]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: 138. To ask the Minister for Finance to update Dáil Éireann on his engagement with the retail banking sector, Department of Housing and representative groups of homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks with respect to bridging finance and the significant funding shortfall homeowners face to remediate their homes. [51432/23]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: House Prices (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: 146. To ask the Minister for Finance for an assessment of the additional cost to construction of a standard 3-bed semi-detached house arising from the concrete product levy in the context of the current market price of concrete, cement and in-scope concrete products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51431/23]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: 180. To ask the Minister for Finance the total number of individuals charged excess tax under the standard fund threshold in each of the years from 2016 to 2022. [51744/23]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: 307. To ask the Minister for Health the number of posts removed from profile as a result of the memorandums CEO ref 09954 and 10166 of 2023 by grade for Letterkenny University Hospital, in tabular form; the number of headcount posts and the WTE to which these relate; the number which were new posts; the number which were replacement posts or vacant posts; and the number which were related to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: 308. To ask the Minister for Health the number of posts removed from profile as a result of the memorandums CEO ref 09954 and 10166 of 2023 by grade for CHO1, in tabular form; the number of headcount posts and the WTE to which these relate; the number which were new posts; the number which were replacement posts or vacant posts; and the number which were related to absence/leave cover. [51634/23]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: 309. To ask the Minister for Health the number of job offers that have been withdrawn as a result of the memorandums CEO ref 09954 and 10166 of 2023 by grade for Letterkenny University Hospital, in tabular form; and the number of headcount posts and the WTE to which these relate. [51635/23]