Results 10,601-10,620 of 26,465 for speaker:John McGuinness

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: The national debt goes up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: Yes, this is what the delegates are saying. Exports to the UK would be down by one third and they would be down generally by 4%. This is all in regard to Brexit and it is before one factors in what Mr. Trump might say to us tomorrow. The Small Firms Association is saying 41% of its members have said they have already experienced a negative impact from Brexit. Sixty-eight percent say they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: I do not accept that. I referred to the strategy of the Department of Finance. The strategy has to take in the immediate risk to the economy posed by Brexit and Mr. Trump. The Department of Finance is the lead Department on taxation. I would have loved to hear Mr. Moran say that, within his Department, there is a model that examines the various reductions necessary in corporate taxation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: I remind Deputy D'Arcy to keep an eye on his time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: I thank Senator D'Arcy. I apologise - Deputy D'Arcy. I keep demoting him.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: A number of issues were raised about Departments and how they engage with the public in terms of the collection of taxes. Mr. Moran refers in various publications to the need to be transparent and to encourage the public to have a better understanding of how Departments work. I received an e-mail from a business person I know in which an issue was raised. I was told that since raising the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: Would the Department take up with another Department how it spent money. Where the cases-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: Could the Department not establish a role? Revenue, under the Department of Finance, is the collector of taxes. Could the Department not have a role where it sees taxes being inappropriately spent by, for instance, chasing and beating down a citizen, with a judge having to side with the citizen. Not only did the judge say that the Department was wrong, the judge said that the integrity of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: Who does Mr. Moran engage with at that level?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: If my business had customers that were writing such descriptions of it-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: Yes. Now that we have expressed unhappiness, can we address the matter? It is not fair that the State should use its muscle and taxpayers' money to come after a citizen in such a manner. A judge has ruled not just in that case but in other cases, yet there is no redress for the citizen and the money that is due to the citizen from the State has not been paid. As Chairman of this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: I want Mr. Moran to be unhappy that taxpayers' money is being spent in that way. If I was collecting the money and I saw someone else spending it as recklessly as that, I would challenge them. That is how a business is run. One does not just walk away; otherwise one goes bust. I would love to see those who collect the money reprimanding those that are spending it recklessly. In this and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: Will Mr. Moran consider some of what I have said?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: I have another example. Before Christmas, a draft statutory instrument on the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund and the allocation of the money came before the Dáil. Reports continue to come in about that fund and how it spends taxpayers' money. Such reports have been coming in for years. Earlier, Mr. Moran referred to governance. Where is the governance in the context of that fund?...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: It is my intention to propose a strategy to committee members to question or investigate such issues as have been raised. I am flagging this for the witnesses because I am not going to stand by and be unhappy about a situation. The State must do something. Regarding the Central Bank and vulture funds, the witnesses are aware that we wrote to the vulture funds. Two responded - Blackstone...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: The Central Bank was dragged kicking and screaming to be "all over it".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: I am wondering about the Department's engagement with the Central Bank. In response to a number of questions that have been asked, it was stated by Mr. Horan, I believe-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: It was stated by Mr. Hogan that the Central Bank would tell the Department from time to time. Is there proactive engagement with the Central Bank to establish for the Department's own interest whether the Central Bank is on top of its game, protecting consumers and dealing with the banks? Is it a two-way street or does the Department just ask for information as it wants it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: Yes, and I respect that, but perhaps that is what got us into trouble back in 2008. What is the nature of the Department's proactive engagement with the Central Bank? Are vulture funds and how they purchase individual debt from the main banks discussed? Will there be protection for the consumer in 2017 to stop the evictions? NAMA was established to handle commercial debt. While it is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

John McGuinness: I understand that, but it still remains a fact that, according to the Bank of Ireland when it appeared before us, there are not sufficient repossessions to convince the market that debts or loans are safe and protected and the expectation is that there will be an increased number of evictions this year. Those people end up on council housing lists, so the whole thing goes around in a circle....