Results 7,981-8,000 of 36,188 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: It was the biggest provider in the market and it charged the highest rate of APR at 1.87%. Over a 12-month period, the APR comes down to about 1.57%. The interest it would have charged on a €1,000 loan was €560. The Minister of State is proposing to bring that down to €480. That is an improvement but it still immoral. The fact that the Minister of State is asking us...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: What would the APR be on a-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, but there will be an APR for somebody who takes out a 12-month loan of €1,000.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: If it is 128% APR, it is still significantly high. The Minister of State is saying we need to strike a balance; that if we reduce it too much, we could scare people out of the market. He mentioned Provident has withdrawn. What calculations has he done to suggest that rate is the appropriate rate? All of the experts, including the Social Finance Foundation, have told us that this rate...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister of State's argument against my legislation and my amendment, which would reduce the cost of credit further on households - in my view it is still very high and that is why we need to reduce it further after three years - is that the Department has had to perform a balancing act in terms of a reduction while not scaring away those operating in the market. The view is that if the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Did he listen to the experts that came before the finance committee who told us that is not true and that we need to reduce this rate further? A rate of 126% APR is immoral. There is no way I am voting for the legislation, especially at a time of pressure on workers and families. The Minister of State is saying that instead of them charging €560 interest on a €1,000 loan, we...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I want to tease that out a little bit further. Is there any evidence? The Minister of State has said half of the moneylenders will not be affected by the Bill because their charges are below the maximum rate and half are above it and they will be affected. The core point that he made is that this would scare people off. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party believe that if...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Minister of State accept that the majority do not?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The majority do not.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: With regard to the consultation the Minister of State referred to, does he accept the majority of people who stated a rate stated one lower that than that which he is asking us to legislate for?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Deputy Fleming is the Minister of State. Let us do it. We can do it here. Surprise, surprise, we can actually do it in the next few minutes. The Minister of State can support my amendment.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: That is not true.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister of State is not getting away with that. He is actually going to vote against a reduced interest rate. That is what is going to happen in the next few minutes. He cannot have it both ways. He has failed to tell this committee how he came up with an annual percentage rate, APR, of 126% for moneylenders for a €1,000 loan over 12 months. He has acknowledged that the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I give notice I intend to bring an amendment on Report Stage.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: That is a mistake in the context of how they operate and how they target vulnerable customers. Is there anything in the legislation that will ban the practice of promoting new loans to customers who are nearing final repayments? We challenge the interest that is being charged to someone who takes out a six-month loan from a moneylender, and we can see that they are paying possibly ten to 12...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Nobody is suggesting it is not.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: What are the repercussions for a breach of the two new offences under section 3? I welcome those offences but what are the repercussions for their breach?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (11 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Minister of State accept that the majority of moneylenders licensed in this State do not collect door to door are not licensed to apply collection charges?

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (10 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: 269. To ask the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer of tax relief on pension contributions in 2019 disaggregated by salary band in intervals of €10,000, in tabular form. [22937/22]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (10 May 2022)

Pearse Doherty: 270. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons availing of tax relief on pension contributions in 2019 disaggregated by salary band in intervals of €10,000, in tabular form. [22938/22]