Results 8,241-8,260 of 26,843 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I will comment first on the point about not looking back. The comparison Deputy Doherty makes is right. Let us consider Seamus Coffey's proposal relating to 80% or 100% tax relief on intangible assets. He said the companies should not have got 100% tax relief. He was referring to those big multinationals which benefited greatly from the reduction of 100% rather than 80%. The Minister...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Between 70% and 80% of working people cannot afford the average house price on their incomes. That is a damning indictment of the Government's failure to solve society's most basic need, namely, to provide an affordable roof over someone's head, particularly for those who would expect that the fact they work hard and earn a living would give them an income sufficient to buy a home. The vast...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The central point is that the problem we have is house prices are, in general, way beyond the affordability of the vast majority of working people. The fact that some people load themselves up with debt and take on mortgages that need an excessive proportion of their income to pay for accommodation does not mean that the system is good or working; it just means that people are desperate and...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I broadly echo the points made by Deputy O'Doherty. One further thing is that it is not just about supply. That is a point I have made repeatedly over recent years. I remind the committee, because this is a very important point, that even when we had record levels of supply in this country, when we were delivering 70,000 to 90,000 houses a year, they were unaffordable. They landed the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I move amendment No. 3: In page 10, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: 8. The Minister shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the Help to Buy scheme which shall cover the following areas: (a) the impact on overall house prices of the scheme; (b) the impact on the profits in construction, banking,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: If I press the amendment, may I resubmit it on Report Stage?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I will do that to save time.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Why is that changed?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Just to be strictly accurate, we had not concluded the discussion on the amendments to section 10.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Just so it is clear-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: -----that discussion is not concluded.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Hold on.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I would like clarity. I am getting a little bit confused now. Section 11 is the section dealing with the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS. Is that correct?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I do not understand then. I have tabled amendments, as has Deputy Doherty, on the Covid restrictions support scheme, which are not in this group of amendments. I do not understand this.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am referring to amendment No.102 in the name of Deputy Doherty, and amendments Nos. 103 and 104, which are mine. They all deal with the Covid restrictions support scheme but they have not been referred to with regard to dealing with this section. I do not understand.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Okay.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: As the Minister will know, I have campaigned very strongly for people who work in the arts, music and live entertainment and for taxi drivers. These people had their incomes and employment possibilities virtually extinguished or dramatically reduced as a result of the Covid measures. This will continue as long as we have any form of restrictions at all. It is not only an issue under levels...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am listening carefully to the debate and the answers given by the Minister. I want to give a special shout-out for the taxi drivers. I do not see why the scheme would not be made available to them. Estimates were done a couple of years ago that suggested a taxi driver, on average, carries fixed costs of approximately €11,000 a year. That varies and can be range anywhere between...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I ask the Minister to reconsider the matter relating to the taxi drivers and a few other categories that have been mentioned. Deputy Doherty has pointed out that the flexibility available to businesses, the service industry and so on, may not be as available as one might think. They are closely linked to a premises that is closed. It is absolutely certain that there is no flexibility for...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2020)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I have made my case. I will not drag the matter out, but I want the Minister to think seriously about what I said. Many of the arguments I made on behalf of taxi drivers were against a background where it looked as if things were reopening, restrictions were lifting and, while work would be reduced significantly as long as there were any restrictions, there was some prospect of the industry...