Results 31,381-31,400 of 35,932 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I want to focus on the preferential loans from companies to employees which the Minister said will affect the market rates. In the first case we are replacing 4% with 5%, therefore the preferential loans from companies to employees are set at 5%. This Finance Bill will reduce the rate to 4% to reflect the norm in the markets. However, the markets are completely different and are going in...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I am not concerned about the rate that is falling or the rate that is increasing from 12.5% to 13.5% because that is the direction in which banks are going but in respect of the mortgage rate, that is falling from 5% to 4%, which is completely out of kilter with the trend of where mortgage rates are going this year, or the projected trend and where they have been for the past six months....

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Yes. I do not know if the Minister disputes the findings of the credit union survey we cite quite often, which showed that 1.6 million people have less than €50 at the end of the month after essential bills are paid. If such people could access the €750 we are talking about, they would have an additional €50 at the end of many months. The question is whether the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Exactly.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: That is the point.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The point is that this argument is based on the simple belief that one should pay for one's third level education because one acquires additional skills at that level. Many people use the skills they acquired at primary and secondary levels. The strong position that education should be free at the point of delivery was carried through for many years. That is what should be here. However,...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: If that is the case, perhaps we should propose an amendment on Report Stage to increase the relief. Would the Minister be open to that?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: It is up to the Minister to accept them.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: This section of the Bill deals with preferential loans. I asked the departmental officials to explain the proposed subsection (j), on page 19 of the Bill, during the briefing. Perhaps the Minister can do so now. It is proposed to change the "specified rate" in relation to preferential loans. The current 4% rate is being increased to 5% and the current 13.5% rate is being decreased to...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister knows the reason that so many are in education - there are no jobs.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: No, I do not. I am delighted that they can get places in third level education.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Let us be real and have a sensible debate, the reason they are in education is that they cannot get a job. There are people on courses in education with masters degrees but they cannot find a job and they must go back to reskill in other areas. Their hope is that with more qualifications they will benefit when the economy picks up. The Minister keeps repeating that the imposition on a...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister has said a number of times that the imposition is €150 over this period of three years, whereas the imposition on a family with a child going to university or college is €750. The decision to be made is whether the Finance Bill will try to lift some of that burden, so that blame for this imposition should not be only on the Minister, Deputy Quinn, given collective...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: In the case of a couple earning €21,000 each, they are not entitled to the maintenance grant, which means they must pay student fees. The cut-off threshold is €41,000 for the maintenance grant and one gets nothing when income increases to €47,000. If they are earning €24,000 each, which are very low incomes and well below the average industrial wage, the family...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I am talking about a situation where there is one child.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Is the relief on the standard rate of tax even if the person is paying tax at the higher rate?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Who can avail of reliefs for education fees at this time? The Minister is saying that if one is sending a child to education, the first €2,500 this year, the first €2,750 next year and the first €3,000 the year after will not be subject to relief. Anything above that is subject to relief. In last year's Finance Bill, the Minister introduced a provision called the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I agree with Deputy Donnelly's comments. I am not sure how widespread it is but I know from calls to my office, and from people I know personally, that parents are having to decide which of their children to send to college and perhaps hold him or her back a year because they simply cannot afford the fees. I can see from the Schedule that the fees are due to increase by €250 each...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: She will not get it-----

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: This is wrong. The Minister said it was never the policy that women would benefit. The Department of Finance has provided a note to all employers - I am one myself - indicating that maternity benefit is not classed as income. It was always the position of the Department and it is provided for in the legislation that it is not part of income. Obviously, those receiving additional income...