Results 4,581-4,600 of 33,118 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I did google the alternative budget on the way here. What came up was the alternative health budget. Maybe between my doing that and taking these parliamentary questions, all the Deputy's colleagues in the Balkans will be changing all the time. The alternative budget of the Deputy was not available this morning and is not available on his party's website.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: To go back to the core point, of course I want to make money available to help all the poor families who have been affected by mica. I have met them, although I accept I have not met as many as the Deputy. Of course I want to make money available to help those who are affected by rising rents and the rising cost of living, but the money has to come from somewhere. The money has to be available.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: If you are making the case for leading the Government and being responsible for public finances, you need to explain where the money is coming from.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: If you do not, you are a source of risk-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: If you do not, you run the risk of inflicting on this economy and our jobs the kind of risk-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I will keep coming back to the question of where the Deputy's budget is. Where has it gone? What has changed in the past few days?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: It is anything but entertaining.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vacant Properties (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy Shortall. I am aware that she has been raising this issue for some time. I have little doubt at all that if I wanted to have a look at her budget proposals, they would be freely and publicly available. The vacant homes tax, VHT, is a new measure announced in budget 2023 that aims to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand. Further detail on this...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Many of those proposals were contained in the Sinn Féin budget proposal, which is no longer available. It has disappeared from the party's website. If I want to find out about Sinn Féin's budget proposals for 2022, they are still available. If I want to find out about its proposals for the budget we are debating, they are gone. Why are they gone? The reason they are gone is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for raising that point. Yes, of course we are monitoring the impact that rising interest rates are having on the cost of living and on families, households and businesses. The Central Bank has not approached me looking for additional powers or tools to deal with the consequences of that impact. As the Deputy will be aware, the code of conduct on mortgage arrears...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Very much so. As I said, we will continue to monitor the adequacy of the consumer protection code that is in place. I believe, however, that it is robust and that the Central Bank and other authorities will take very carefully their responsibilities to ensure that borrowers who find themselves in positions of distress receive the necessary information and are made aware of the options...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: It is worthwhile acknowledging, as the Deputy has done, that we have not seen recent decisions made that have led to abrupt changes to interest rates available. I agree, however, with one of the Deputy's points, that is, that in the time ahead it will continue to be important to monitor competitive changes within our marketplace. He is correct in acknowledging that because of the move in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As he will know, the decision on the defective concrete products levy arose from the decision of November 2021 to respond to the great harm that has been caused to so many people, including many of the Deputy's constituents, due to the presence of mica in their homes and buildings. As part of the work undertaken on the impact the levy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. The Central Bank of Ireland publishes mortgage statistics on a quarterly basis. The most recent statistics indicate there were around 719,500 primary dwelling mortgage accounts at the end of June last with an outstanding balance of €98.7 billion. The Central Bank estimates that around 27% of primary dwelling mortgages with credit institutions are on a tracker...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: It is important to be clear on the possible costs of this. I have outlined what the cost was in 2008. The most recent data, from the end of June, indicate there are currently 720,000 mortgage accounts with an average outstanding balance of €137,100 at an interest rate of 2.5%. Assuming mortgage interest relief was granted at a rate of 20% on the average interest payment, such a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mortgage Interest Rates (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand hard-pressed households are looking to the Government for help, which we provided in budget 2023 and which we want to provide to make a difference. However, those hard-pressed households, the citizens of Ireland who are experiencing such strain, also have an expectation that any proposals that will be brought forward will be affordable, will make sense and will not create new...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett. I thank the committee in advance for its work and co-operation in dealing with this important legislation. I recall the similar amendments brought forward during last year's Finance Bill. We discussed many of the issues the Deputy has just touched on and I am pleased to do so again in the context of this Bill because important political matters are at stake...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputies for their questions. I will begin with the Deputies who spoke first and will come to Deputy Boyd Barrett shortly. I accept that Deputy Mattie McGrath is simply looking for a report on these matters. The reason I am not in a position to agree to his amendment is the issues he is calling for a report on are covered every year in the tax strategy group papers. We...