Results 31,301-31,320 of 35,932 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 93: In page 129, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following subsection:“(2) Where, in relation to a supply of agricultural produce or an agricultural service by a flat-rate farmer, an invoice is issued, that invoice must carry a VAT number and PPS number for moneys claimed against income tax by farmers and farm businesses.”. This amendment seeks to...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I am no expert in this field but we all have PPS numbers. Even my youngest son has one and he is only ten months old. Everyone has a PPS number and I am not sure how bureaucratic it would be to include a PPS number on an invoice. We must include PPS numbers on many different forms. I do not think it is an overly bureaucratic requirement. This proposal aims to tackle black market...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I will not push the issue but the intention of this amendment is not to put an additional burden on small farmers. Farmers, whether small, medium, or large, already have too much of a burden in terms of paperwork and administration at this point in time. However, the farming community itself believes that there is black market activity taking place which is placing those who are compliant...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I wish to expand on a point raised by Deputy Michael McGrath. I have raised the issue numerous times. While I have a problem with the way in which VRT is structured we will park it, but the Minister needs to do something for family cars. I do not drive a seven-seater car but my wife does. She has to as it would be illegal for her not to do so. Whenever we have the children with us we...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: There could be a separate table for cars with more than five seats. Will the Minister also figure out how to prevent people who do not need seven-seater cars from buying them?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I will try.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: This section deals with increases in VRT. The Minister is well aware that the motor industry has suffered quite a number of shocks in recent years. It is nowhere near where it was and there have been substantial job losses in the industry. The Minister has been requested to amend the VRT and motor tax laws. Despite the fact that motor tax legislation has been amended, additional increases...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: We could start here. We cannot turn off the heat in any of the offices here.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: A couple of other issues arise, including the cross-Border element of this. As I understand it, the sulphur level of coal in the North is lower. There were reports last year of lorries from the North delivering coal to areas as far away as Cork. This tax could exacerbate that situation. I raise that issue because I support cross-Border trade. However, there are different regulations in...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: This section relates to carbon tax, an issue that has been well ventilated. We had this discussion when dealing with the financial resolutions on budget night and again during the Second Stage debate. This is not about changing behaviour but about increasing the revenue for the State. These increased carbon taxes will exert additional pressure. While it is called a carbon tax, I do not...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: We are all aware of the issue of fuel poverty, on which measures have been introduced in other jurisdictions. For example, up the road in the North the Administration is sending cheques to people who fall into the fuel poverty category. This will exacerbate the issue of fuel poverty, which is a serious concern. For a large number of people, burning coal in the fire is the only option to...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The targeting of those, particularly young people, buying wine is an old issue. I never liked cider or wine when I was younger, but among the groups of lads with whom one would hang about there would be the bottle of Linden Village for £2.50 from the supermarket or a bottle of wine, such as Buckfast. When I was growing up, it was those monks who were getting many young boys and girls...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: As there is a vote in the Dáil, I will be brief. I have a couple of points. First, it does not surprise me that 24% of alcohol sales are in wine. If one goes to a restaurant or a pub, a glass of wine is €5.50. If one goes to the supermarket or off-licence, a bottle of wine - before this increase - was €7; it is now approximately €8. Even the €1 increase...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: We oppose this section, although not in an attempt to have the Minister reverse his decision because it is very clear it is a Government one. We debated this before the resolutions were passed on budget night. This section deals with the increases in alcohol prices, including the additional €1 on a bottle of wine and the other increases. Sinn Féin did not propose that in its...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Valid points are being raised on the amendment. I welcome this section and also the amendment to include bus operators. It was one of the proposals Sinn Féin tabled in our alternative budget and it will be beneficial to licensed hauliers, in particular those who were buying their fuel in France and elsewhere. A genuine issue arises in terms of the cost of transporting goods within the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: We are discussing ring-fencing the money.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: In principle, we in Sinn Féin do not oppose the increase in the price of tobacco, particularly if it is genuinely intended to change attitudes and behaviour in society. However, the reality we face is that the market has been flooded with illegal cigarettes which are sold on the street. That is the case in most larger towns and some small ones. There is easy access to illegal...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Croke Park Agreement Issues (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of extra hours that will have to be worked by primary teachers and by primary school principals under the terms of Crok Park Two. [11756/13]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Croke Park Agreement Issues (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that teachers who for the past number of years have been making superannuation payments from their supervision and substitution allowance will not receive any pension benefit from such payments unless they retire within the next three years; and the way it is proposed that this element be dealt with....

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (7 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: To ask the Minister for Health the number of children currently awaiting insulin pump therapy in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin; the number of nurses on leave from this Department and if this is impacting on the delivery of this very important therapy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12058/13]