Results 781-800 of 3,241 for speaker:Brian Ó Domhnaill

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: I agree with the last comments of Senator Craughwell. They are well made and well-founded. We talk about being able to fund infrastructural investment off balance sheet. However, ultimately someone has to pay for it. Just because it is off balance sheet does not mean that someone out in Europe is going to pay for it. The customer is going to be fleeced to pay for it or it will be paid...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: Exactly, but that is not happening here. Therefore, it does not meet the basic requirement of a fair taxation regime. It is against all the international standards that have been established, as outlined by Senator Barrett. It is deeply unfair and regressive and does not stand with the progressive nature of the PAYE tax system. Consider the position in other countries that charge for...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: He should listen to the OECD and examine other countries’ models. He should learn from where poverty and the provision of water go hand in hand. What will happen is that the Government, even with the best will in the world, will vote through legislation that will create huge problems not only for the country, but also for its citizens long into the future. This is wrong. Senator...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: The charging regime is the central element of the costing and what people will be paying for water. However, the introduction in this section of a new charging model is reforming the taxation policy of the country. It is a much bigger issue than just charging people for water. If the Government wished to court popularity or to do the right thing, I am surprised it did not engage in a...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: Perhaps Senator O'Keeffe wants to join the debate at this stage. We have been here all day. You are very welcome.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: The issue at the core is how we pay to fund the service. Figures from the Department show that the service costs are €1.2 billion. It may not even cost that much and it should not and I will say why. Half of the water is lost through leakage. Why should people have to fund a cracked up system with 100 year-old pipes in Dublin?

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: Irrespective of the cost, commercial customers pay €200 million a year-----

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: -----which up to now they pay through the local authority structure. A charging structure is being introduced but there is no clarity for the taxpayer on whether there is any reduction in taxation as a result of the introduction of charges. That is what is annoying people and getting their backs up. It is being referred to on the streets as double taxation, that people regard it as paying...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: This charging model has been revised. It is a form of taxation, whether it is called a consumption tax or a service charge. I refer to the discussion on taxation as being regressive or progressive. Leaving aside the universal social charge, our income tax is one of the most progressive forms of income tax in the OECD. Why do we not continue with that model in order to pay for water services?

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: A person earning €8,000 or on €150,000, pays at a tax rate that is proportionate to the earnings. Why move away from that model and move towards a model that does not conform to the equity we seek to achieve in a taxation system? The founding principles of any tax system are administrative simplicity, effectiveness and equality, or equity. The system proposed does not honour...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: Senator Gilroy's objectivity is noted.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: I commend Senator Byrne for tabling the amendment and I ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to accept it, or at least provide us with a commitment to reflect on it over the weekend. It is a damn good amendment. If we subscribe to providing decent public services to the Irish people I do not see why they cannot be given a say in the type of services to be...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: I wholeheartedly support this amendment, which is a very clever proposal, and I do not understand what there is to fear from it.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: If the Minister, Labour Party and Fine Gael Party agree that every citizen is entitled to a degree of openness and transparency, the provision of information, standards on accessibility and non-discrimination of public services, surely the foundation on which Irish Water should operate must be feedback, transparency and openness. The United Kingdom established a citizen's charter that is...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: I wish to pick up on what Senator Byrne said, because it was a valid point. An element of confusion was brought into the debate by the Minister in regard to property rights and the law of unintended consequences. Senator O'Donovan pointed out that there is no such law, because it does not exist legally. It is merely a knock-on effect, an externality, or an inefficiency of a property right....

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: Yes.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Brian Ó Domhnaill: The very good discussion in the House on this section of the Bill has been brought about by the worthwhile amendment proposed by Senator Barrett. The amendment cuts to the bone of Irish Water in its current form and where we want to see water in the future. It touches on financial transparency and the transparency or clearness of the water as well. It relates to who will own the water into...