Results 461-480 of 1,760 for speaker:Aideen Hayden

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Draft Heads of Finance (Tax Appeals Commission) Bill: Discussion (27 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I want to tease out a couple of points. How many appeal hearings take place annually?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Draft Heads of Finance (Tax Appeals Commission) Bill: Discussion (27 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: We do not know much in terms of openness and transparency which is a little ironic given that the Revenue Commissioners want to remove certain rights on the basis of openness and transparency. People are very much in awe of the Revenue Commissioners and would not like the idea of being put on public display. The kind of data that would be made public in an appeal case would be extensive....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Draft Heads of Finance (Tax Appeals Commission) Bill: Discussion (27 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: We had a discussion at an earlier hearing about using a sledgehammer to crack a nut but we do not even know how many cases there are. Do we know the value of those cases in tax terms? In his opening statement, Mr. Des O'Leary from the Department of Finance stated, "As of last January, Revenue estimated that €770 million was in question where assessments had been raised but collection...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Draft Heads of Finance (Tax Appeals Commission) Bill: Discussion (27 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Apart from what the delegation has gathered from its consultations, we know nothing about what is going on, not even the number of cases or their value. There is limited publication of determinations, which does not help in giving any guidance. However, now everything is going to be in public and it will all be in the public domain. Is there no better way to achieve the kind of knowledge...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Draft Heads of Finance (Tax Appeals Commission) Bill: Discussion (27 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Given we do not really know very much about the system as it stands, that in itself is not open and transparent and not in the taxpayers’ interest. That clearly has to change. Obviously, there are concerns about delays. Canada, Australia and the UK have moved towards public hearings. However, the bottom line here is that Ireland is a very small country. We have to bear that in...

Seanad: Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (22 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I echo the comments of Senator Cummins regarding the assistance that Members of this House and of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges have received from a number of sources, not least opinions given on pro bono basis with regard to the terms of reference of the banking inquiry. The work of Deputy Ciaran Lynch, as Chairman, will hopefully bring the inquiry to a successful conclusion in...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I echo the concerns expressed by my colleague Senator Sean Barrett on the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions report on poverty in Ireland. I refer in particular to the finding that one in eight children now live in poverty. We are pulling ourselves out of recession and there is hope on the horizon. Yesterday, it took me more than one hour to get home but there are some prices to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Judging from the contribution of members thus far, it is fair to say that a number of us are concerned to ensure local firms have a reasonable chance to compete for local contracts. There is a point at which the old adage, small is beautiful, is true. I was at first quite pleased with circular 10/14, which issued on 16 April 2014. Appendix 2 to the report sets out a matrix that can be used...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: May I give an example and will Mr. Quinn tell me if it falls within the category? Were I to buy €26,000 worth of consultancy, would that fall into the category of low to medium risk goods and services?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Is low to medium risk the lowest category?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: That is what I wanted to establish. For the sake of argument, if I am providing low risk goods and services, what is the minimum level at which public and employer's liability insurance is irrelevant? Would one need such insurance for a contract of €25,000 or could it be below €25,000?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Is it necessary to have employer's liability insurance of €12.7 million, public liability insurance of €6.5 million and environmental indemnity of €2 million if I were providing training for my local school? The reason I raise this is because I have come across situations in which people have been providing management consultancy services and have been asked for public...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: What about public liability and employer's liability insurance?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Would insurance cover of up to €12.7 million be required?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: On that point, not everybody applying is a professional firm. Deputy McDonald made the point about micro-businesses. We are trying to put the economy back on its feet and encourage people into business. Not all of the tenders will be from large professional firms that would have standing insurance in place but might, for the sake of argument, be from people who are trying to set up a business.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I asked Mr. Quinn if he knew how much it cost to procure employer's liability insurance to the value of €12.7 million or public liability insurance of €6.5 million. I take his point, and I raised with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on a number of occasions the fact that outlandish amounts of insurance, in particular professional indemnity insurance, have been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Does Mr. Quinn know how much it costs to get that type of insurance?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functions: Office of Government Procurement (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Mr. Quinn should keep those limits under review and he should go a little further in his investigations than consulting IBEC.

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Second Stage (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: Like Senator Bacik, I am very pleased that it was a Labour Party Minister who introduced the legislation. I am also pleased that the legislation is being introduced in the Seanad. I congratulate Senator Zappone on the role she has played in bringing the Bill to fruition, and all the organisations in the Gallery, for whom this has been a very long journey. I wish to begin by quoting the...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jan 2015)

Aideen Hayden: I support the comments made by my colleague, Senator Landy, about the cost of financial transactions. In my opinion, access to financial services is a basic human right. When I reflect on the counter charges being imposed by some of the banks, I wonder whether we would be in the position we are in today if some of them had known their customers better going back a couple of years. I think...