Results 11,341-11,360 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The position is that over 77,925 discretionary medical cards were in circulation on 1 March. Their status on 1 March 2014 was as follows: 33% still held the medical card on the discretionary basis, that is, 25,398 people; 49% of those who had a medical card have retained their medical card based on an assessment of means. They still have their card but now on different grounds. That is...

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: Eligibility for medical cards has been somewhat fraught over the years and it becomes a political issue periodically but despite the review carried out by the HSE with the Department of Health, of all that were reviewed since budget time, 96.4% of those assessed continue to be eligible for medical cards, therefore, 3.6% of those reviewed lost their medical cards. One of the reasons the...

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: Fianna Fáil had a commitment to review medical card eligibility in its 2007 manifesto-----

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: -----an election it won, and it did not do it then either.

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy does not have to be sanctimonious.

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: When that is added to the financial mess his party left behind when it abandoned office, the Deputy should take part of the responsibility.

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Government has heard the concerns raised in recent months, and they were raised in a more magnified way in the past few weeks. The economic recovery we are working very hard to achieve is succeeding and we need to continue with stable conditions to ensure the economy grows and that we get our people back to work. In that context we must protect the most vulnerable in society but as I...

Return to Writ: Dublin West - Introduction of New Member (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I would like to be associated with the Ceann Comhairle's remarks of congratulation to Deputy Ruth Coppinger. I hope she has a long and distinguished career in the House.

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I thank Deputy Martin for his question. It is reasonable to accept that people want a system of medical cards that is sensitive to families' needs and can operate on a case-by-case basis. The Government will certainly examine this. Taking medical cards from very sick children is not acceptable. This cannot be changed overnight, but the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and Minister of State,...

Leaders' Questions (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Government has made clear its commitment to delivering on the implementation of a GP service for the entire population as part of the move to universal health care. Everybody understands, however, that a medical card system that costs over €2 billion a year and where 42% of the population holds a medical card needs to be reviewed periodically. In 2013 alone, the Health Service...

Other Questions: National Debt (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: More than two thirds of the Irish national debt is due to previous Governments running deficits. That is a fact. Less than one third is due to what Deputy Broughan deplores, that is, bust banks that had to be recapitalised and bailed out. Deputy Broughan should not pretend that foreign bankers imposed this on us. Much of the burden of the debt was done domestically, over two thirds of it...

Other Questions: National Payments Plan Implementation (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: From 19 September 2014, e-day, public sector bodies such as Departments, State agencies and local authorities will no longer issue cheques to or accept cheques from businesses. This is being implemented as part of the national payments plan for Ireland to help reduce cheque usage generally in an effort to tackle late payments, improve cashflow and reduce costs for Irish businesses. E-day...

Other Questions: National Payments Plan Implementation (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I welcome the fact that Deputy Kyne has raised the issue because September is not far away. Public attention needs to be drawn to the fact that e-day is coming. Although it does not apply to the public in general or to social welfare payments it will apply to all businesses and State agencies. There needs to be increased public awareness and I hope Deputy Kyne's question gets some...

Other Questions: National Debt (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: Most countries have national debts; I do not know of any country which does not have such a debt. If one is running a national debt, one pays interest on outstanding loans. That is the way countries behave if they wish to remain solvent. Ireland's national debt is just in excess of €200 billion, of which some €64 billion arises from the situation with the banks, while...

Other Questions: National Debt (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: It was paid in the first year in which we were in government, when the Deputy was still a member of the Labour Party.

Other Questions: National Debt (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: It was not paid after that and we then negotiated our way out of it. The effective rate of interest on all of that money now stands at approximately 1%. The money to which I refer is not of the pretend variety; it is real.

Other Questions: National Debt (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy should not be concerned with that old guff.

Other Questions: Mortgage Schemes (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: These are considerations that the Government always takes into account. However, we are dealing with a situation in which the whole building industry collapsed for reasons we are aware of. Many good builders can no longer build. We are trying to take initiatives to get it going again. We have succeeded to a great extent by removing the overhang in Dublin through sales of property by NAMA...

Other Questions: National Debt (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The stability programme update, SPU, published last month, provided an estimate for general Government interest expenditure of €8.45 billion in 2015. This is a reduction of €300 million on the corresponding budget 2014 estimate, primarily reflecting an improvement in the interest rate environment generally. The interest expenditure projection for 2015 will be further reviewed...

Other Questions: Mortgage Schemes (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: There are more than 70 recommendations in the construction initiative published by the Government, and through the Cabinet sub-committee the Taoiseach will, on a month-by-month basis, ensure these initiatives are introduced and developed. The Deputy is aware that the housing market and the building industry have been in crisis for many years and that they constitute an impaired sector of the...