Results 3,281-3,300 of 35,540 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Is the Minister disputing the Mazars report? It states that 53.3% is the deadweight. I can read it for the Minister. That number has increased. I am just challenging this, if the Minister wants to address the point. The deadweight is 53.3%.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome the changes being made to benefit-in-kind for electric vehicles. This will have a big impact on some companies and individuals. Is there an upper limit to avail of this benefit-in-kind exemption and the €45,000? Is there an upper limit on the purchase price of the vehicle, which would be the open market value of the vehicle? Is it €50,000? Is this still there?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: My question to the Minister is whether there is an upper limit on the value of the car. A high-end car costs a lot of money. Is there an upper limit? Is there a €50,000 value? Is this available for high-end cars that have low emissions?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: There are electric vehicles in the market for €140,000. If a company provides an executive with one of these Mercedes that costs €180,000 or €140,000 will the individual be able to reduce their benefit-in-kind by €45,000 using this measurement?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: That is fine. There is no cap on the value of the car. I wonder why the Minister would not consider having a cap. There are electric vehicles that can cost a lot of money. Companies are providing their workers with electric vehicles in the range of €30,000 to €50,000. This is what is happening everywhere. I would not be surprised if funds here have executives driving...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I thank the Minister.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: This is another one of the Minister’s U-turns. His Government opposed any suggestion of a renter’s tax credit because, it argued, it would go into the pockets of landlords and rents would increase. Now we have seen the introduction of the renter’s tax credit at €500. Under this section, it will increase to €750 and be extended to parents who are paying...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I will make a couple of points and then I have to leave. The Minister did not answer the question about why there is no restriction on rent increases. Since the Government took office, rents have increased on average by €5,000 per year. The arguments made previously were that if you provided a relief, which we called for, it would end up in the pockets of landlords unless you have a...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: That is section 11(1)(b). I have a final question. A large number of renters who are entitled to this have not claimed the credit. It is a cumbersome way to claim the credit because you need to get details from your landlord, you need to put your own details and so on. However, a lot of people are fearful of even having a conversation about rents with the landlord. The landlord might say...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister will be aware that I have campaigned for a long time on mortgage interest relief. I welcome that the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023 has an element of mortgage interest relief but, like many good Sinn Féin ideas, the Government sometimes takes them and messes them up. We saw that with the renters' credit, where there is no freeze, therefore much of it ends up in the pockets of...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Good luck to you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: This is very real for many people. We are sitting in here and I know we will have a bit of good craic as we go through this, but there are 130,000 people who are locked out of this scheme by the Minister's proposal. There are 130,000 families who are not going to get mortgage interest relief, regardless of how much their mortgage went up in the past year. That is completely unfair. I hear...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: We did not.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Can I ask one further question while the Minister is still here?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. I found it interesting that the Green Party Deputy was talking about Sinn Féin blowing the budget as he is discussing a measure that would not exist if it were not for Sinn Féin. Let us make that clear. You always know you touched a nerve when they have to resort to that. I genuinely feel this is cruel. I appeal to the Minister to consider this between now...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 12: In page 23, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “Report on Mortgage Interest Relief 14.The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the introduction of temporary mortgage interest relief, available in respect of mortgages on principal private residences, applied at...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I have a question on the grandfathering provision. Will the Minister explain the types of bodies that would not be eligible for this that are eligible at the minute? I understand that no body will lose its status because of the grandfathering provision. I am trying to figure out who will be impacted by this.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: That is appreciated. The issue is that they would not be able to avail of it in the future if they are newly established and applying for it. The grandfathering will only apply to existing organisations.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Why would they not come under the definitions? Is it because the sport is not competitive or because they are clubs as opposed to-----