Results 661-680 of 35,536 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Half of the Rural Independents did not turn up for the vote.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I have submitted many amendments to the Bill. I am wondering why I went through this 274-page document in detail given that the guillotine is looming. I regret that. The Bill should never have been brought out of committee. We should have dealt with the Bill in committee. We have always facilitated the Government in respect of the passage of the legislation. Even when the Government of...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: That is fact. There are-----

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Let me deal with this. Some 100,000 fewer under-40s own their own home today compared with when Fine Gael entered government.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: That is a fact. Home ownership has collapsed for the under-40s. That is fact. It has fallen by half. When Deputy English talks about wanting to give people a country that gives people the opportunity to come home again, I agree 100%. However, they did not leave because they could not get a job. That is not the reason they are leaving in such numbers. They are leaving because Fine Gael...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Fine Gael do not want to hear the truth. That is okay but the Deputy should have a little bit of múineadh, a little bit of manners.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Home ownership has collapsed under Fine Gael. As I have said, 100,000 fewer under-40s own their own home today as did before Fine Gael entered government. The average age at which a person first owns their own home in this State today is 39. All of these kids, these adults, know that their lives are on pause not because they cannot get a job or because the economy is not booming, but...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: With respect, I will not take any lectures from Deputy McAuliffe either. He does not like to hear what the Government parties have done to the young generation of this State. Deputy English talked about giving people hope and an opportunity. I have responded to those comments. I am calling out the bull in the suggestion that people are leaving because of the economy. It is because of...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I am the sponsor of amendment No. 3, which seeks a report on abolishing USC on the first €45,000 of the income of all workers. I made the point earlier on we are going into a general election and if I have the honour of going into government, that is exactly what I would do within the first two years as Minister for Finance. There would be no USC paid by average workers in this State...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I am fine.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I do not want to labour the point, but while I welcome the fact that the Minister acknowledges median income in 2023 was €43,000, he should acknowledge that the CSO does that for comparable data purposes. I can read to him the email the CSO provided to me. That is only for workers who are employed for 50 weeks or more in the year. It excludes all workers who left their job during...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister is right that they benefit from the USC. He gave them €59. Let us just settle on that.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: What is the Minister's view of middle income? He talked about middle-income workers and all the rest. Will he clarify to the House his definition of "middle income"? Does he use CSO data for example, which tells us that the median income in 2023 was €43,221? I am sure people would accept that definition of "middle income". However, as the CSO tells us, that excludes everybody who...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I have two questions. The Minister talks about his tax package. I will answer the question he put to me. I would introduce a tax package that is fair. If I get the opportunity to sit where he is, as Minister for Finance, I will abolish the USC for average workers across the State. I will ensure that average workers never pay a tax introduced at that time by Fianna Fáil. I will...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: They do not have the same protection.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: No, the Minister said they had the same protection and he should withdraw that comment.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: It is not.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister made a point and I am telling him now that those who have gone to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman have not done so for the good of their health. These are people who are in financial distress. He has stood there and said they have the same protection. He knows fine well they do not have the same protection because there is a major flaw with the legislation that...

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: That is not the comment. That was not his comment.

Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Nov 2024)

Pearse Doherty: His comments were that the protections travelled with them. They are the comments that gave the green light to the vulture funds to sweep in and buy up these loans.