Results 4,441-4,460 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I gave a commitment to the House that a comprehensive review of the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme to include a broader review of mobility supports for persons with disabilities would be undertaken. I am working with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman on this. Both of us agree that this work should take place under the auspices of the national disability inclusion strategy to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I accept the point Deputy Canney is making. I am committed to trying to resolve and conclude an issue that has been running for some time. Two things are under way now. First, we are trying to come up with a better overall policy compared to where we are at the moment. I understand the issues of equity that the Deputy raises. As always, we must look at the cost and impact of any new...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I am very much aware of the views of the Ombudsman. Deputy Canney has reminded me of those views again. I fully accept that where we are is not acceptable to many people who rely on a scheme like this while dealing with great difficulty in their own lives due to their health. That said, it is a complex and sensitive matter. I will pursue two things. First, I will support the work that is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fiscal Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: There has not yet been any further change in the budgetary framework that is available to countries. The general escape clause that keeps the EU fiscal rules in place but gives countries more flexibility in their levels of borrowing was activated again for this year and next year. That gives countries the flexibility they need to be able to borrow in response to the very pressing and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I keep hearing talk of the Sinn Féin budget but it has not yet appeared. The budget it is trailing has had more instalments than "Star Wars" in the way it is being brought forward, and we are still waiting for it to come out. Before the summer, Sinn Féin demanded that the Government bring forward an emergency budget. The country awaits with interest - perhaps that is an...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Doherty is so busy trying to devise a budget that brings together all the figures that cannot be added up and involves going against the advice and warnings many are giving regarding overheating our economy and not creating new risks tomorrow that he is busy over there imagining U-turns that have not happened. What I have done at all points is acknowledge that there is not an easy or...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Of course, I am also the Minister for Finance who had the privilege of being in office during Covid to put in place the supports that played such a role in our country getting to where we are today, working with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Fleming, on this and many other matters. While this challenge is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget 2023 (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: The programme for Government provides a commitment to develop processes that will study and advance social solidarity and equality of opportunity and look at how we can bring forward measures that are better for the ecology and environment of our country. In accordance with this commitment, my Department undertakes an analysis of the distributional impact of the main tax and welfare measures...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget 2023 (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the necessary clarity given by the CRU around disconnections during what will be a challenging and difficult winter for many people. The Government will play its part in trying to help them. Deputy Barry asked me a very detailed question, which he knows sits with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. If the Deputy had wanted an answer to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget 2023 (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I absolutely appreciate how important this issue is to many households. I also have many constituents who are in the circumstances the Deputy described. I welcome the indication given by the CRU yesterday regarding the support that will be available to households that struggle during a winter in which they are worried about bills increasing. I am sure the CRU or the Department of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: We have to balance that against the reality that capital, in particular, is at the heart of how we can sustain economic growth and employment in our country. Capital, for many people, is the savings, assets and pensions they have worked so hard to build up and any changes in that regard must be weighed up against the role that kind of investment and those assets play in creating employment...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I am sure that is a matter the House can consider but I respectfully differ with the Deputy in terms of his acknowledging the commentary and analysis my Department and I have had on corporate tax revenue but then making a suggestion or inference that we have not done anything to manage that risk in recent years. The point I would make is that if we look at where we have been since 2019, even...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government recognised the great challenge of rising prices since last October in budget 2022, in which we brought in measures worth €1 billion to help anticipate a change in the cost of living. In February, the Government went further and agreed an additional package of €505 million, including the €200 energy credit and a lump sum payment of €125 for those in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Prices (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: The war in Ukraine and Russia’s reduction of gas supplies to Europe have led to volatility in energy markets and an increase in wholesale gas prices. This is added to existing supply constraints in electricity markets across Europe, which in turn have led to an unprecedented increase in retail electricity and gas prices for consumers, households and businesses in Ireland and across...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Prices (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: What I have done on many occasions is outline the issues an additional taxation measure on the energy sector in Ireland would result in. I have made clear that the additional revenue such a measure could gain would be needed but I have also outlined a number of other factors we have to balance that against, such as the impact it would have on jobs and future investment in Ireland and the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Prices (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: The Eurogroup does not deal with proposals relating to the functioning of the energy market. That sits with the Council of Ministers that deals with energy, on which we are represented by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. Our perspective on those kinds of proposals is that we wanted to ensure they did not create any unknown or new difficulties on top of what we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: The Commission on Taxation and Welfare was an independent group that was established in April 2021 as a result of a commitment in the programme for Government. It was asked to consider independently how best the taxation and welfare systems can support economic activity and promote increased employment and prosperity, while ensuring there are sufficient resources available to meet the costs...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: It is important to recognise that credit unions can and do provide mortgages, with over half the sector engaging in mortgage lending at some level. As at June 2022 credit unions had a mortgage book of approximately €301 million, which had grown 22% year-on-year. Since 1 January 2020, credit unions now have a combined capacity to provide up to €1.1 billion in additional SME and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 151 together. At the outset, the Deputy should note that recent Government policy has focused on strengthening the environmental rationale behind company car taxation. Until the changes I brought in as part of the Finance Act 2019, Ireland’s vehicle benefit-in-kind regime was unusual in that there was no overall CO2 rationale in the regime....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107, 117 and 158 together. The Commission on Taxation and Welfare was an independent group that was established in April 2021 as a result of a commitment in the Programme for Government. It was asked to independently consider how best the taxation and welfare systems can support economic activity, and promote increased employment and prosperity while...