Results 10,181-10,200 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I think I have covered the points made but I can restate them again. Before doing so, from an IT point of view I am seeing two pictures of Deputy Naughten when he speaks but only one of everybody else. Perhaps that is a good thing.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The price of that, unfortunately, is that Deputy Mairéad Farrell's picture is blurred. While I can still hear her, I cannot see her that well.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Farrell can rest assured I can still hear her points. Deputy Naughten is in technicolour glory, whereas Deputy Farrell is a little more analogue at the moment.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The reception is beginning to break down now at my end. I will keep on going, and if there is a difficulty in what I am communicating I know I will not be short of committee members to tell me.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Regarding the point Deputy Mairéad Farrell put to me about VAT, it is going to vary from business to business. Some businesses will pass it on while others will not. I know the VAT reduction is a move that Sinn Féin was supportive of. In my response to the Deputy about this point earlier, I specifically said I was not sure how the ESRI counted for the VAT move in this year's...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: This section amends section 104 of the Finance Act 2001 to align Irish excise legislation with the provisions of the EU general excise directive. This directive requires member states to apply a relief to excisable products that are supplied to the armed forces of any state which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty other than the armed forces of the EU state within which the excise duty...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: A charge on the implementation of the section can only arise if armed forces from another member state are in our country and, particularly from 1 July 2022 onwards, undertaking a common defence activity, which would be under a Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP, framework. Because our neutrality is very clear, those circumstances will not arise in our country. As to Deputy Barry's...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: This measure does not affect our neutrality. If we are looking to send signals about our neutrality we will find far better opportunities, and there might be a far greater need in the future, than with regard to the implementation of an excise directive. This does not influence our neutrality. I am bringing it in because to use a derogation on an issue I do not believe will arise inside...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I want to respond to what Deputy Doherty said. It is an equally significant statement if a member of Government reassures the committee that this does not impact on our neutrality. At the start of her questioning to me, Deputy Farrell asked how a charge could be created and I explained that because of our neutrality, a charge would not be created due to the implementation of this directive....

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with Deputy Barry that context is all here. The context of this is a long-standing commitment to neutrality on behalf of the Irish State and the idea that the implementation of this section in any way diminishes or affects the commitment that we have to our neutrality is completely wrong. Furthermore, if at some point in the future, a Government was in a situation in which it was...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I will deal with the different points that were raised. In response to Deputy Mairéad Farrell, some cars that have the lowest possible CO2 emission, which would be in the first band of vehicle registration tax, VRT, are clearly more expensive than the average car, but plenty of cars on the lower bands of VRT, bands 2, 3 and 4, have a very low level of VRT and are not the most expensive...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I will keep my comments very brief. It is possible that we could move to the form of taxation the Deputy is proposing, but it is a medium-term project. At the moment our NCT centres do not have the technology to do the kind of real-time CO2 emissions testing he is referring to. We could move to that point over time but it is a medium-term project. What we have here is a significant...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I support Deputy Doherty's proposal. We are making good progress on the Finance Bill overall and we can do a fair bit more in the next two hours. We are scheduled to sit all day tomorrow. I do not think that we will need to do that and I think we can conclude the rest of the Bill in more normal working hours tomorrow morning. I support an earlier suspension tonight and our officials will...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment no. 137: In page 53, line 6, to delete “paragraph (a)(i)” and substitute “paragraph (a)(i) or (iii)”.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 138: In page 55, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 92 of Finance Act 1989 35.(1) Section 92 of the Finance Act 1989 is amended— (a) in subsection (2)(a), by deleting “including such further medical criteria in relation to disabilities as may be considered necessary,”, and (b) in subsection...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with Deputy Mairéad Farrell that this scheme affects the lives of many people. This is why the suspension of the scheme in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling is a serious issue. While a number of people are waiting to obtain access to the scheme, I will work with the HSE and raise this matter with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I will take on board the points that have been made. We will try to get the review done as soon as possible. I am sure there will be an opportunity to hear the views of this committee with regard to it. Again, I appreciate how sensitive the matter of this scheme is but there are some serious issues relating to it that need to be considered and teased out. We will try to get the work done...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Amendment No. 139 refers to publishing a report on the suitability and operability of a diesel rebate scheme and whether it is sufficient in compensation for the increase in carbon tax. The diesel rebate scheme was introduced in 2013 in recognition of the prevailing high price of diesel at that time.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware of the matter. I thought the Deputy's comments were relevant to the amendment proposed, which is amendment No. 139. I am aware of the points made on the matter by Deputy Murphy. I made changes last year to the operation of the diesel rebate scheme, where we doubled the marginal rate of compensation that is available if and when the retail price of diesel goes above...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I hope to be in a position by the time we get to Report Stage to give Deputy Murphy an update on the work under way on the grant. As I said, I take her point that we must ensure there are incentives in place to facilitate change. I understand where she is coming from with respect to her observations on the operation of the diesel rebate scheme. The current price of diesel means the...