Results 6,341-6,360 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Seanad: Company Closures. (24 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I welcome the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I was present on 12 December 2002 at a meeting in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The meeting was attended by all Oireachtas Members from Carlow-Kilkenny, local councillors, representatives of SIPTU and several representatives of the Comerama plant in Castlecomer, County Kilkenny. On that day, the previous...

Seanad: Company Closures. (24 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I understand fully the Minister's response. However, the fact is that a commitment was given at that particular meeting. Whether the commitment could be honoured subsequently is obviously a matter for debate. The Tánaiste was clear in what she said at the time. It was quite clear to everyone that a commitment was entered into. The Government Deputies present heard the commitment. I...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I move recommendation No. 9: In page 98, before section 56, but in Chapter 6, to insert the following new section: "56. Section 67 of the Finance Act 2003 is amended in subsection (2) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (a): '(aa) as respects a disposal which arises as a result of a compulsory acquisition,'." On Second Stage, I raised the issue of the provision and compulsory...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: Recently I met a farmer who will lose ten acres of land to the Dublin-Waterford motorway. He is a man who never sold a site and has no intention of ever selling one. The only intention he has is to build up his enterprise and he is losing ten acres of ground. In effect, the Government is stealing two of those acres from him because he will have to pay capital gains tax on land he had no...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: There is no intention to sell the land. The Government is putting its hand into the landowner's pocket.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: It is being taken off them.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: The Minister of State smiles a lot.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: It seems the breeze from Inchydoney has reached as far as the Chamber.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: Senators Mansergh and Ryan are correct in their observations on the provision of infrastructural projects in and around Dublin in that land acquisition represents a significant part of the cost. However, in my part of the country, the land acquisition component of the cost of road infrastructure does not represent one of the major costs.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: It is not one of the major costs. The farmer I mentioned from Bennett's Bridge in County Kilkenny who has lost ten acres will not become a millionaire. Any inference from anyone in this Chamber or outside it that he will find himself with bags of money because of this is simply incorrect. However, there are those in Dublin and other cities who have made substantial amounts of money. I accept...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: Will the Minister of State indicate that he will look seriously at the issue of reinvestment, particularly by farmers and householders? Those who lose their homes or land and seek to reinvest the money they receive in their business within a specified period of time should be exempt. My language may have been unhelpful in this debate. However, I did not directly describe tax as theft. That is...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: However, I refer to the situation of a farmer who has no intention of selling land but must surrender several acres to facilitate the development of road infrastructure. It is inappropriate that such a person must pay a considerable amount of tax on an asset he or she had never intended to realise. If such persons reinvest the compensation in their business, they should be exempt from paying...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: What is it?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I move recommendation No. 10. In page 125, before section 99, to insert the following new section: "99.—Section 8 of the Principal Act (as amended) is hereby amended by deleting all occurrences of '€25,500' and inserting '€75,000'." This recommendation, which is self-explanatory, seeks to introduce an increased threshold for which people must register for VAT.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I agree with Senator Quinn's recommendation and also profess a personal interest because I frequently buy hot food from garages, Superquinn and other outlets. The Senator is correct in that this is the epitome of a stealth tax. To use a south Kilkenny colloquialism, it was "snuck in" between the budget and the publication of the Finance Bill 2005. It impacts on a particular segment of the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I move recommendation No. 4: In page 17, before section 11, to insert the following new section: "11.—As respects the year of assessment 2005 and subsequent years of assessment the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of a new section 473B: '473B.—(1) In this section— "approved child minding services" means an institution which is registered by the Department of Social and Family...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: One of the Minister of State's last comments was that he is happy with the Government's policy in this area, having previously said that the Government has done nothing in this area for the past seven or eight years. The Government has done nothing.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I compliment Senator Mansergh on his comments, which are correct. We could all list off child care facilities. There are two or three major problems in this regard because one arm of Government does not appear to know what the other is doing. I recently heard about the case of a group in County Kerry which received a grant for €1.5 million to build a child care facility even though it does...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: That was its purpose.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (23 Mar 2005)

John Paul Phelan: Two groups in Kilkenny have sites and planning and they were superseded by a group that did not.