Results 6,741-6,760 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: SBO Tax Expenditures: Film Relief Section 481 Tax Credit (resumed) (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I wanted to say happy Christmas. I will devote the rest of my attention, for the remainder of the evening, to the vote.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I apologise for arriving late. I had a couple of other issues of business to which I had to attend. I welcome the witnesses, for whom I have a few questions. There was an approval of the award by two Ministers at different times. Were those approvals conditional or were they clear and unequivocal?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Why has the correspondence been with the assistant secretary in the Department?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Was the Secretary General not responding? I would have presumed the Secretary General was the person to approach. I might be wrong.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: What has the response been or has there been no response?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I am coming to that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: How many are affected?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Approximately how many of the pensioners involved have spouses?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Will more people come into the group as time goes by?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I am particularly interested in the so-called unwinding of the FEMPI provisions. More than a year ago, or even two years ago, I asked more than one Minister whether the provisions were now unwound. I was assured that they were but I have since noted that there appear to be a number of outstanding issues, one of which is the issue facing the witnesses. I propose that the committee needs to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Report 42 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service: Discussion (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: My interpretation of the unwinding is the restoration of the payments associated with FEMPI. We discussed those at length in this committee and in other committees, and in the House. I am sure my colleagues will follow it up, but it might be better to invite a delegation from the Department before the committee. It need not be a long meeting. Half an hour would do it. It will be either...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Office of the Revenue Commissioners: Engagement (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I have many questions. I will not go through them all as we are scheduled to finish in 15 minutes, but a lot of damage can be done in 15 minutes. I welcome our guests and thank them for their helpful assistance in various cases we have to deal with regularly. I will go quickly through the issues that caught my attention. I want to clarify one thing about corporation profits tax and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Office of the Revenue Commissioners: Engagement (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I agree. The second-hand car market was mentioned. When a car is traded in, dealers should take account of where it is going and the trade-in price or whatever. They will have to plan accordingly and will do so in order not to lose half a fortune in the course of it. Gaming and e-gambling bring the concept of gambling much closer to the gambler or the speculator or whatever we call it....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Office of the Revenue Commissioners: Engagement (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Office of the Revenue Commissioners: Engagement (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I should also have mentioned the area of technology. Is Mr. Cody satisfied Revenue has access to sufficient technology and the necessary funding to provide for the various scales and levels of different taxation of all levels of business to ensure the minimum interruption and gaps?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I am; I never leave it. I welcome our guests. I have been listening to the discussion for its duration. I am a little concerned about one or two things, namely, forward planning in the provision of services in a country that has an increased population, which is still increasing. I listened to somebody making a presentation in the House last night about what pertained in 2011. Many...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: We have heard comparisons made with the UK, Scotland, France, Germany, and almost every place across the globe in the last couple of years. We have been compared with New York, Sydney and so on and so forth. They are all having their problems now. They are all having the same issues we are having but they are having them later. We had these starting off a couple of years ago. We should...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: How quickly can we do that and put it in operation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I want to revisit the promised review. We all accept the need for it. However, the situation is very urgent and there could be a programme in the interim to address the salient issues so that the review would continue but these issues would be addressed as a matter of urgency. Is that a possibility?