Results 6,221-6,240 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Deputy should go to Brussels and inform himself.

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: What is the date of the report?

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank the Deputy.

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: They have not.

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Please, Deputy.

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank the Deputies for contributing to the debate and facilitating the approval of the Revised Estimates for the public services. It is important to note that the output statements are a major step forward. The OECD recognised that last year in its report on the Irish public service which commended the output statements as the right way forward for performance-based budgeting in Ireland....

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: We have two distinct problems here. The Deputy alleges that I was in league with fat cats and bankers and I am at least entitled to reply to his suggestion.

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I have not met any of these gentlemen.

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Let us assume that we have no banking crisis. We must and constantly do discuss that in this House. I am not taking away from that fact. Even without the banking crisis we would still have a substantial public finance crisis because the volume of our expenditure is at unsustainable levels. Our taxation receipts fell to unsustainable levels. That problem exists independent of any banking...

Estimates for Public Services 2009 (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I move the following Revised Estimates:

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am glad to avail of this opportunity to discuss public expenditure and, in particular, the Revised Estimates for 2009, which have been discussed by the relevant committees in recent weeks. It will be useful to outline the economic context of the Revised Estimates. Our economy has been hit by substantial external and internal shocks and we are expecting a cumulative loss in national income...

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: While the new economic reality has meant that significant expenditure adjustments are required, the Government remains committed to the continued upgrading of Ireland's infrastructure. To this end, the Exchequer capital allocation in 2009 published in the Revised Estimates for public services 2009 is for more than €7.3 billion. This is a substantial outlay, given the dramatic drop in...

Vote 41 — Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Revised Estimate). (24 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: He was never a Minister for Finance.

Financial Measures (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I will answer the Deputy's question. We are seeking EU approval for this. If it is forthcoming in the next few weeks we will be in a position to bring the scheme to the House immediately. If there are further technical issues to be worked out, it will have to wait until later in the year. It is not related to NAMA. It is a separate item in the guarantee picture. Regarding the...

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the number of people who made a claim for a tax refund on becoming unemployed, and the average refund in the years 2007, 2008, and 2009 is as follows: It should be noted that more than one payment may be made to a single applicant for any given year. Year No. of Claims People Average Amount per person 2007 30,636 27,652 804.51 2008 52,321...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 to 121, inclusive, together. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the cost to the Exchequer of mortgage interest relief paid by way of tax relief at source (TRS) in each of the years 2004 to 2008 inclusive is as follows: Tax Year Cost [€m] 2004 230 2005 280 2006 350 2007 545 2008 705 At the end of 2008, there were...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I propose to take Questions Nos. 122 to 124, inclusive, together. The position in relation to mortgage interest relief is as set out in my Supplementary Budget on 7 April 2009. The Government believes that in these times of scarce resources support should be targeted at those most in need. Accordingly, from 1 May 2009 mortgage interest relief has been limited to the first seven years of a...

Written Answers — Financial Services Regulation: Financial Services Regulation (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I propose to take Questions Nos. 125 and 126 together. I announced on 18 June that the Government had agreed a range of reforms of the structures for regulation of financial services in Ireland. The key change is the establishment of a single fully integrated regulatory institution, the Central Bank of Ireland Commission. The Central Bank Commission will be chaired by the Governor of the...

Written Answers — Banking Sector Regulation: Banking Sector Regulation (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Irish Banking Federation Personal Voluntary Switching Code was introduced in 2005 on a voluntary basis. It is aimed at assisting customers in switching their personal current or savings account and making the process of switching as smooth and easy as possible. In March 2009, the Financial Regulator (FR) published the findings of its mystery shopping exercise, which examined the ease of...

Written Answers — Banking Sector Regulation: Banking Sector Regulation (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: While reimbursement of overcharging by financial institutions is primarily a matter for the institutions concerned, I understand from the Financial Regulator (FR) that the bulk of this has been reimbursed. My Department has been informed by the FR that the reimbursement process is proceeding in accordance with the FR's General Principles in relation to reimbursement as set out on page 50 of...