Results 5,961-5,980 of 35,563 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: So each business could claim €60,000.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I understand but I am asking about the upper end of the cap. The cap is what gives you certainty, so with 400,000 enterprises it comes to €30 billion that it could cost. The only thing the cap can give certainty on is that it cannot go over €10,000 per business, which means it cannot go over €30 billion.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Of course not. Neither would I expect that the Department would expect that.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Of course but the Minister made a point on the proposal we put forward which factored in a 50% increase in energy costs in December right through to the end of March, which we did not expect either but we factored in as a buffer. The Minister says the design feature in his scheme is that the cap exists but the cap only gives you certainty that it will not go over €30 billion or...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Not the cap really because what the-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The same issue pertains. The Minister knows and understands that and he does not want to recognise it. The cap does not give certainty. Neither the Minister or I know where energy prices could go. We do not know what could happen. There is forward purchasing in energy prices, with signals being provided for months ahead on energy prices increases, and gas operates on an eight-month...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: No.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: That is true.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, households.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: That is a difference. The difference is the Minister's scheme would only cost €30 billion in that case. If energy prices balloon, the Minister's scheme would only cost an upper limit of €30 billion.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Sorry, if costs balloon to the point where the caps-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: -----were reached by all the businesses, then that is the figure. Let us not interrupt. I know how energy and gas prices work, as I said. First, they are signalled in advance when they come in. That is why a scheme is introduced not for a couple of years but for a couple of months in order that it can be reassessed at that point in time. Second, gas is purchased on the market months in...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. What could the upper limit cost?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: No, because we are not-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Let me finish. The Minister asked me a question so let me finish. We are not talking about Apple versus the corner shop. We are talking about households for a start. The rationale for an upper limit relates to large companies being able to have the State pay multiples of their energy bills. The Minister can shake his head but he outlined to Deputy Boyd Barrett that was one of the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Which part does the Minister disagree with? Is it the 400,000 businesses or the €10,000 they could charge each month?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I do.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Exactly.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I agree with the Minister.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister should see what his officials-----