Results 29,321-29,340 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: Why is the Minister introducing amendment No. 12 to include qualifying contractors, when the rule states that the singular implies the plural?

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 confuses us a bit more. He has provided a bit of information that where there is a singular, it can be viewed as a plural in legislation, but he has gone to the lengths of identifying the plural in one of the subsections, and does that not ask questions about the other areas? For example, subsection 3(a), which refers to payments to a qualifying contractor, and subsection 3(e), which...

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 welcome that, because that is what my amendment sought to do. However, the section the Minister is amending is in respect of the qualifying expenditure to a number of contractors, but subsection 3(a) on page 10 states, inter alia, the following: Subject to the provisions of this section, where an individual (in this section referred to as ‘the claimant’), on making a claim in...

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 amendment was about the number of contractors, so I welcome the fact-----

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 will withdraw them anyway.

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 welcome that the Minister is open to investigating whether a category of people may be disadvantaged as a result of their exclusion from this section. He referred to the housing adaption grant, in which respect two issues arise. The first is that it is means tested, with the result that the grant is not available to households with incomes in excess of €65,000 regardless of whether...

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

Pearse Doherty: We would not have to walk far from this building to find many buildings that were not constructed in compliance with building regulations. Unfortunately, such buildings are a scar on society. We have recently seen the consequences of this practice. I understand the logic behind the restrictions. For example, I acknowledged the reason for restricting the incentive to previously occupied...

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

Pearse Doherty: Exactly.

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

Pearse Doherty: In the context of amendment No. 6 and the obligations referred to in sections 530G and 530H, will the Minister elaborate on the type of contractor involved?

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 fine.

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. 7: In page 9, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following:"(c) which is a newly built property, previously unoccupied, but has been acquired by the individual for the purposes of occupation by the individual as his or her only or main residence on completion of the qualifying work and which is so occupied upon completion, (d) any qualifying residence under the Living...

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 quite a number of amendments grouped here. On amendment No. 8, subparagraph (c), where somebody carrying out works requires planning permission to carry out the works, qualifying work is deemed eligible if it is completed by 31 March 2016. Under the amendment, where the qualifying works require planning permission such planning must be granted by 31 December 2015. I am curious as...

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 section deals with work carried out until 31 March 2016. Would I be correct in stating that to be eligible under this scheme such work does not have to commence in 2015 and could commence in March 2016?

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 reason I ask is to clarify. The Minister states it is up to interpretation of the Revenue. Is there a section which stipulates works incurred in January? What would Revenue have to do with it? Does the Bill allow for works to be carried out right up until 31 March 2016?

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 tabled four amendments to the section which have been ruled out of order, but for the life of me I cannot understand the reason. I mentioned this on Second Stage also. There is no point in challenging that decision - we have learned that from having had a few years' experience - but we come to the same point time and again. I introduced a Bill in the Dáil that was not out of order...

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

Pearse Doherty: This issue is at the core of the debate as we commence Committee Stage and I hope the debate on it over the next three days will be fruitful. The Minister said that my proposal would be unduly harsh and that he is phasing out the relief. I welcome the fact that it is being phased out. The Minister has come to a decision that the relief is no longer acceptable and that it will be phased...

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 key point in this section is the phasing out of the relief, which I argue should be done in a more speedy fashion. How does the Minister categorise or measure what is unduly harsh for this group of individuals? From my viewing of later sections of the Bill, I know the same consideration has not been applied to other individuals who are unduly burdened through harsh measures in this...

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

Pearse Doherty: We are now dealing with the section, not the amendments.

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 need not worry; I will. I do not need encouragement to do that, but I welcome it. Can the Minister reiterate whether the total cost to the State of this tax relief is €4 million, and how many individuals benefited from it in the last year for which numbers are available?

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

Pearse Doherty: So the State is adopting a policy of phasing out a relief for 29 individuals over a four-year period at the cost of €4 million, yet 17,000 individuals who are providing for their children lose their entitlement overnight.