Results 3,361-3,380 of 36,036 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Over the past month and more we have been witness to the cruel and vicious bombardment of the Palestinian people in Gaza together with increased attacks, intimidation and brutality in the West Bank. These events have underlined the need for the State to do everything in its means and use everything at its disposal to hold the Israeli regime to account on behalf of the Palestinian people. We...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: In the past number of weeks, we have seen this play out in front of our eyes on our television screens and on social media. We have witnessed actions by an Israeli regime that break all moral and, indeed, legal codes. We have a moral obligation to act, and there are steps that can be taken. In March, before the humanitarian crisis unfolded, Sinn Féin brought legislation before the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The lack of urgency on this by the Government is startling. We brought forward the legislation and it decided to stall it for nine months. That nine months is up in January and there is still no plan from the Government. In the meantime, bombs have rained down on the people of Gaza. We have seen the destruction of hospitals and civilian infrastructure, and the destruction and targeting of...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I thank the Minister. It has been a busy engagement over the past two weeks, given all the different opportunities. We are dealing with the Supplementary Estimates for the Minister's Department and Revenue. I will come to Revenue in a moment. I cannot imagine this will take much time. There are far more important and wider issues than what is at stake here in respect of the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The consultant was paid in the region of €250,000, probably a little less, perhaps €230,000.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: It is somewhere in the ballpark of €230,000 per year. Is that the consultant's salary for just doing the work on the board of appeals? I presume this consultant is employed by the National Rehabilitation Hospital, as the Minister said, and, therefore, he or she was doing important work for the NRH and we were covering his or her entire wage. Is that the position?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The day job.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: As a result of the board resigning en masse the consultant could not fulfil his or her position and, therefore, the National Rehabilitation Hospital must pick up this bill because the person is employed to do important work for the hospital, which did not have a funding stream. This is the case that has been resolved.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The salary of this consultant is in the region of €230,000. Is this as a result of the work he or she was doing for the NRH or was there an uplift in the salary as a result of the work he or she was doing for the board?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. With regard to Vote 9 and the Revenue Commissioners, there are a number of changes, mainly driven by a significant net capital overspend of €47 million. There is also a non-pay overspend of approximately €12 million. Will the Minister start with the non-pay element? It is almost a 10% overspend. Will he explain what is driving the non-pay part? Is it...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Minister have a breakdown of this €12 million? How much is in consultancy? How much is in IT? I am not sure whether this has been shared with us. I do not have it before me.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: What would that-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Obviously very good work has been done by Revenue and other agencies on these issues. I want to focus on the capital overspend. There is €51 million for Brexit infrastructure capital, which the Minister has outlined is for Rosslare Europort in the main. Surely some of this was foreseen. Estimates were prepared this time last year, or perhaps it was earlier this year. This is not...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I understand that it is part of our application as regards the BAR, which will be decided on at the end of the project when the money is expended. I imagine, however, that that is just not good budgeting, particularly when we come to the House to look at Estimates for this year and the Minister is telling me his Department knew there would be significant additional expenditure and it was not...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I understand that, but if 35% of it was going to fall with Revenue, and not to split hairs on this, there should have been an allocation of something. It is a significant amount of spending.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: It is 10% of the overall budget we agreed earlier this year and it will increase, obviously. There is more for next year. Even though we are likely to recoup that through the BAR, I think it should be included. The final question I will ask the Minister about the Estimates relates to Revenue. We had this discussion in the context of the finance Bill and we talked about the increase in...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: We talked about the pinch point where you drive more into the illicit market, the illegal market, and more sales from outside the State in the form of duty-free. The Minister helpfully provided the figures which show there is trend there. I will make the point again that I am very concerned that the illegal cigarette market is normalised. It is acceptable. You go to any pub or any...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, please.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome that. Finally, as regards the point the Minister makes about welcoming and being open to consideration of any additional powers, if 17% of cigarettes that are consumed are illicit, that means that one in six cigarettes smoked in this State is illegal and smuggled into the State through organised crime groups. I imagine that those organised crime groups are not just involved in...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I thank the Minister.