Results 6,621-6,640 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: The Senator agrees with the other 26.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: We tabled our amendment before yesterday.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: Where does the Senator live?
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: And then every five minutes.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: We were in fourth position a couple of years ago.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: The Senator is addressing the amendment and has not yet addressed the motion yet.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: The Senator is very interested in the Greens.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: The reality has dawned on the Senator.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: I move amendment No. 1: "That Seanad Ãireann, bearing in mind the 2002 programme for Government promise to 'keep down personal and business taxes' and the undertaking by the Minister for Finance prior to the last general election that no cutbacks were being planned 'secretly or otherwise', notes that âthe Government has implanted 27 taxes by stealth over the last two years, â170,000...
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: In his contribution he seemed to be concerned with Fine Gael and the Green Party. I am glad he is coming around to the belief that his party will be booted out of office at the next general election when there will be an alternative. I am pleased to hear the Senator discussing that alternative as we have certainly been discussing it over the past few months. I was very disappointed that...
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: Senator Mansergh's contribution consisted entirely of an attack on what Fine Gael contends in its amendment. Senator Fitzgerald carried on in the same vein. It is extraordinary to have this debate given the recent fiasco with electronic voting which involved the most scandalous waste of public money which we have seen in a long time. It is extraordinary to have a two-hour debate during which...
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: Machines which will never be used are sitting in warehouses up and down the country at a cost of thousands of euro to store. Despite that, we are holding a debate on how well the Government is managing public finances. I noted Senator Fitzgerald's comment that each Minister is being held to account for the money he or she spends. Why has no one been held to account for the money which was...
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: The primary reason we have a surplus this year is that the tax bands were not increased in line with inflation by the Minister last year though he promised they would be. We have a surplus this year because another promise was broken by the Government in the last budget. Members opposite should not pat themselves on the back and contend that they are great fellows for having â¬500 million...
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: It is money taxpayers were promised would remain in their pockets, but it did not when the Minister reneged on a promise he made during the last general election campaign. I was very interested to hear Senator Mansergh mention the 27 stealth taxes. As he disagreed on only one, I presume he agrees with us on the other 26.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: That the vast majority of these cuts were made cannot be gainsaid. Over the past few years, we have seen substantial increases in motor taxation.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: The drug refund scheme was increased in 2002 by 31%, VHI charges by 18% and bank card charges by 108%. Does Senator Mansergh remember the Minister more than doubling bank card charges?
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: It was a significant amount. The cost of a television licence has increased by 40%.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: It may not be a tax, but it is a stealth charge.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: Senator Mansergh also mentioned bus fares. The Government is certainly responsible for the provision of public transport. Over the last few years, we have seen public transport charges increased significantly by over 12% but we have seen very little improvement in the services.
- Seanad: Public Finances: Motion. (12 May 2004)
John Paul Phelan: ESB bills continue to rise.