Results 29,281-29,300 of 36,033 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 51: In page 25, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following: “16. The Minister shall review within one month of the passing of this Act all exemptions that have been allowed to the Higher Earners’ Restriction and provide a report to Dáil Éireann on the effects of the temporary removal of the Employment and Investment Incentive from the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Minister have any statistics on those who are eligible for a GP-visit card or a medical card who have been referred to the service and who are claiming the 20%. It is not as if people go for the craic. They are not getting the full cost back. They are only able to claim 20% of the cost. I must watch my language. No one would waste 80% of their money if they did not need the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: There is no cost control on the relief for going to one’s GP either. The cost control is that one pays 80% of the cost no matter what the relief. People simply do not have such money. I will not labour the point.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The amendments that have been ruled out of order relate to self-referral to a physiotherapist. As I understand it, the Minister for Health is supportive of this idea. The Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists supported the Minister for Health on this move. This makes sense. We cannot press the amendments as they have been ruled out of order because they impose a charge on the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: A large section of the population has a GP only card or a medical card. Is it 2 million people who now have one or the other?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Rounding that up, it is 1.9 million and many of the lads in that category play football and if they have an injury they can walk into their GP on Monday morning and get referred in any event. Bar the Minister's anecdotes about footballers going down for a rub, has he any statistics-----

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Is that subject to an excess?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I am not opposed to the section. However, one aspect of this matter relates to the amount of money the State pays on private health insurance and the fact that the full cost is still not being imposed in respect of private patients in public hospitals. I do not have any opposition to people who have private health insurance. I am of the view that people take out such insurance because they...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister says that the cost of the tax relief is €0.5 billion. Is that €0.5 billion with the measures in this Bill or is it current? What will the cost be when this section is enacted?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: What will be the 2014 figure?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Is that a reduction?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The tax relief will cost approximately €373 million. Has the Department run the figures on this section and the potential liability to the State from the tax relief? What is the maximum liability under the current number of policy holders in the State?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: To avail of this the premium has to be €1,000 for an adult, €500 for a child. As the insurance sector decides to increase the cost of premiums what is the extent of the vulnerability? I am not asking about where we are now based on the cost of premiums but, as the Minister rightly said, we do not decide how much tax we pay as a State, the insurance companies do because they...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: That is not the question. Maybe I am not articulating this properly. Certain adults are paying premiums of €800 and €200 for children but they are eligible for relief up to €500 under this section. What is the State’s exposure if the insurance companies were to increase premiums? I know that will not happen overnight but the Minister said that premiums have...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Minister have data on the break-down of the potential exposure?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister talks about the unfairness and I agree that one way or another the majority of citizens fund private health insurance but the Minister recognises the importance of the insurance sector. It is likely that premiums will continue to increase. Therefore even with this reduction as the premium increases the tax liability on the State increases too. Does the Minister envisage...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: As there is a vote in the Dáil, there is no point in calling a vote.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Both Deputies Michael McGrath and Boyd Barrett have articulated why this should not go ahead and I am very supportive of their views. This is a wrong tax measure. It is a tax on single fathers. It is mean spirited, in my view. There are other options available to the Minister. It is estimated that 15,400 single fathers are availing of the tax credit. The design of the original tax...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Would that be the only circumstance where somebody would be receiving crediting contributions and no payment?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: That is appreciated. It is more a question for the Department of Social Protection.