Results 42,621-42,640 of 46,267 for speaker:Simon Harris

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: It is because that is where the bulk of the infrastructure lies, and because they were revalued.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: The €59 million is the estimate for all of the water infrastructure that has been valued in the entire country.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: It is based on all available valuations with certain local authorities. As I stated, the bulk of that available valuation is the four Dublin authorities and the Waterford local authority, but there are others in other local authority areas. I can provide the Deputy with information on these if he wishes.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: That was a matter for each local authority, but they were rateable.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: Not that I-----

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: I can certainly provide Deputy Fleming with more information on where valuations appear on valuation lists, but the information I have available is that the bulk of it lies in the four Dublin local authorities and the Waterford local authority, and other available valuations.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: Following on from what Deputy Creed had to say, I have tried at all Stages of the Bill thus far to be as constructive as I can in teasing out all of these issues. In my view, we made considerable progress on this matter during Committee and Report Stages in the Seanad. However, I am happy to tease them out further today. Deputy Fleming referenced his concern for my parliamentary...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: I will be happy to do that before Report Stage. As a final point, I hear an awful lot about the competition between community-based and commercial child care. I wonder how much that is actually the case, particularly in large parts of the country. I say this more as a question and as something we might tease out. Are the community child care facilities really in competition with the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: First, the issues of low pay and so on are much broader. I do not think there is any parent in Ireland who finds the cost of child care to be low. The issue with regard to the people providing these vital services earning low pay are broader Government issues and I am pleased the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is looking at this at an interdepartmental level. In regard to the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: Let us have this conversation on Report Stage. I will give the issue further consideration before then.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 12:In page 30, to delete all words from and including “paragraph” in line 3 down to and including “land,” in line 5 and substitute the following:“paragraph 21 (inserted by the Water Services Act 2014):“22. Any land,”. These are simply technical amendments to renumber a paragraph and update the citation. Since the Bill was...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: It is just renumbering.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: It is simply renumbering of paragraphs 21 and 22 and changing the year to 2015.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: Constituency offices of Members of the Oireachtas are exempt, but councillors' offices are not. There has been no alteration in the position. The provision relates to any building or part of a building occupied by a Member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament which is used exclusively for the purposes of accommodating his or her constituency...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: As many as one has.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: My understanding is the provision relates to any constituency office, once it is wholly used for that purpose by the Oireachtas Member. The provision is made in Schedule 4, paragraph 19.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 13:In page 33, line 20, to delete “section 30(1)” and substitute “section 30(1) of the Principal Act”. This is a technical amendment. Section 44 currently references section 30(1). It should, for clarity, say that the section being referred to is section 30(1) of the Principal Act.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 14:In page 33, to delete lines 23 to 25 and substitute the following:“(2) The Valuation Acts 2001 to 2014, section 16 of the Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Act 2014, section 12 of the Water Services Act 2014 and this Act may be cited together as the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015.”.

Leaders' Questions (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: The Taoiseach does not need any help.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Properties (4 Mar 2015)

Simon Harris: The following table schedules the 390 leases currently held by the Commissioners of Public Works across 337 buildings, to provide office accommodation for the various Government Departments and agencies. The Commissioners acquired these properties based on a brief of accommodation requirements provided by the relevant Department or Agency at time of acquisition. The occupancy of the...