Results 2,881-2,900 of 7,404 for speaker:Mick Wallace
- Other Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: I knew that final line was coming 30 seconds ago. The Minister is correct that I would not have advocated further reducing current expenditure. What I am advocating is that we challenge the EU fiscal rules in order to borrow money at 1% for investment in infrastructure. I am delighted to hear the Minister is having reservations about PPPs and I agree wholeheartedly with him on that point....
- Other Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: 11. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has read TASC's report: A Time for Ambition, which calls for a significant increase in public investment from 1.84% of GDP to 2.8% per annum with regard to the announcement of a new ten year capital plan; his plans to open a public consultation process with regard to formulating the new plan; and if he will make a statement on...
- Other Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: The Minister said earlier that investment in infrastructure in 2017 would be 14% higher than in the previous year. According to my mathematics if investment currently stands at 1.7% a 14% increase on that will leave us at well under 2% in terms of investment whereas the European average is approximately 2.9%. If we are not going to challenge the EU rules, will we be paying expensively for...
- Other Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: We are starting at an incredibly low base so the percentage increases will leave us playing catch up. The Central Bank has said that Government investment has declined by two-thirds since 2008. One of the ways we have been sourcing money because of EU fiscal rules is the public private partnership, PPP, model. Research in Britain shows that public private partnerships cost, on average,...
- Other Questions: State Banking Sector (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: 9. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he had discussions with the Minister for Finance with regard to using a proportion of the capital from the sale of a bank's (details supplied) shares for public investment here, as recommended by TASC in its report A Time for Ambition with regard to the promised new capital investment plan; and if he will make a statement on the...
- Other Questions: State Banking Sector (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: The Minister will probably have heard of the TASC report, A Time for Ambition, which addresses the promised new capital investment plan. Has the Minister discussed with the Minister for Finance the possibility of using the proceeds from a potential sale of State shares in Allied Irish Banks to invest in infrastructure, rather than paying down loans?
- Other Questions: State Banking Sector (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: I would prefer if the Government did not sell its share in Allied Irish Banks. It would be great if AIB became a State bank. We heard a great deal in 2011 about establishing a State investment bank when the private banks let us down and we ended up bailing them out because they were useless. The Minister referred to European Union rules. The European Commission recently stated that...
- Other Questions: State Banking Sector (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: While I realise Rome was not built in a day, it was started and we should start the process here. The Minister argues that it takes time to secure planning permission and get all our ducks in a row but there does not appear to be much in the way of planning in place. Is there a genuine plan to spend serious money?
- Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Second Stage (Resumed) (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: We discussed this Bill during a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality this week. It is blatantly obvious that this is a massive area with so much at play. There are so many issues to deal with. I looked at the comments from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The commission said that services to victims should not be dependent on the victim making a...
- Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Legislative Measures (2 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: 164. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the Public Sector Standards Bill 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11070/17]
- Traveller Ethnicity: Statements (1 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: There is extensive research to show that Travellers in Ireland stand out as a group that has experienced extreme disadvantage in education, housing, employment and health. According to the Economic and Social Research Institute landmark report, A Social Portrait of Travellers, published in January this year, almost 70% of Travellers live in caravans or overcrowded housing and 84% of caravan...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Prisons, Penal Policy and Sentencing (Resumed): Victims' Rights Alliance (1 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: I would not worry about her.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Prisons, Penal Policy and Sentencing (Resumed): Victims' Rights Alliance (1 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: Will the Deputy name them?
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (1 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: 48. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of any assessment that has been carried out by his Department to establish if there is a need for a higher education institute or university in County Wexford; if such an assessment has not been carried out to date, his plans to initiate one; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10333/17]
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (1 Mar 2017)
Mick Wallace: 62. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to remove voluntary contributions from all schools, which the majority of parents are obliged to pay; if consideration has been given to the survey carried out by a charity (details supplied) which found that €103 million a year in extra education funding would allow parents a truly free primary school service; and if he will...
- Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)
Mick Wallace: I have a lot of problems with it.
- Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)
Mick Wallace: I have had plenty to say about Cerberus outside too.
- Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)
Mick Wallace: There are few people around who will stand up to it.
- Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)
Mick Wallace: We have sold a large slice of Ireland to vulture funds for a fraction of its value. Cerberus alone has bought par value loans of more than €25 billion for a fraction of what they are worth and it has wreaked havoc. How can the Minister claim he is not responsible for anything the National Asset Management Agency does? To whom is NAMA responsible, if not the Minister for Finance? Is...
- Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Mortgage Resolution Processes (28 Feb 2017)
Mick Wallace: This is a joke.