Results 14,381-14,400 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I gave the Deputy an answer a moment ago indicating that I agree with the statement. I said that within the €2.8 billion, we will look to use the funding to deal with the measures needed to get our country Brexit-ready and dealing with some of the effects of a no-deal Brexit. If a no-deal Brexit were to occur next year, the needs we would have in meeting social welfare commitments...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes. I have now been participating in debates like this for three years and I have never sat in front of this committee while somebody called on me to run larger surpluses. That has not happened. In my many years participating in debates like this, I have never had a single politician calling on me to spend less. The reason is that it is my job to get the balance right because I have the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is attributing an argument to me that I did not make. I was very clear in putting forward my argument that the responsibility sits with me. I was crystal clear about it as I agree with the Deputy. It would be a pretty poor argument to put to her that I did not run a higher surplus because I was not asked to do so. I was very clear in what I said, perhaps in anticipation of her...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: If I acknowledge that again, it will be the third time. I am well aware of it.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: It has been worthwhile acknowledging where we are on that. We had a planned budget increase of 7.1% for the end of August and at that time, the actual increase was 7.9%. There was a 0.8% difference between planned and actual expenditure. The figure a year ago was 3.2%. There is a considerable change in the current figures when compared with where we were a year ago. That said, there are...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: That is why I have said it is a risk that we must manage better. I am working to do so. Against that, in most of the years in which I have been involved with this process, the magnitude of the health overrun would have been clear at this point of the year.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will have to work on that issue because one of the other points the IFAC has made is that supports need to be temporary, targeted and timely. We need to be very careful when we say potential supports are available and then grant them, even though a no-deal Brexit does not happen. That would create a considerable and significant deterioration in the national finances. I have not made a...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The deposit into the rainy day fund has not happened.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: That point is relevant to the debate we are going to have. The deposit has not yet happened. If it had happened and we were dealing with the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, section 9 of the Bill would allow me to use that funding to deal with those consequences. It is semi-moot at the moment because the deposit has not happened.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not believe it has but my recollection is that it was planned for the end of the year.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am considering options on this because I am under no illusion as to what a no-deal Brexit could mean for parts of our economy. I will take on board what the Deputy says. I simply have not made a decision yet on the use of that funding. The Deputy is correct. I am being careful in my use of language on how a rainy day fund could be used because it is described as being used for dealing...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am well aware of that and I am trying to make sure that we have sufficient flexibility to deal with risks. We know of many of them, but if a no-deal Brexit were to occur, that could have many different effects in our economy.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: All the information available to me is aggregated for the total economy. As that information has become available to me and it has been made available to the Oireachtas throughout the past 18 months. Each Department has done an analysis on the part of the economy for which it is responsible. The Deputy referred to some figures for tourism. The information that I now have available is for...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To be crystal clear, much of that has been published in the Brexit contingency plans, which were made publicly available on two separate occasions. I am well aware of the work, sector by sector, that each Department has done to identify the impacts of Brexit on different parts of the economy. That is available.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: No, it has been published on many occasions.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am answering the Deputy's question. The last contingency action plan was published before the summer. It referred to different impacts that Brexit might have on different parts of the economy. Work is ongoing on the sectoral impact in the greatest level of detail possible.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will not comment now on the specific locations or the issues which the Deputy raised, but I am aware of the issue. On how I previously described the introduction of duty free, it is correct that I said I would only bring it in if it was instigated elsewhere. That happened last week. On its overall cost, the Deputy is correct that other things could happen that could reduce the cost of...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am well aware of the impact the rising cost of insurance is having on smaller companies in Ireland in particular. I well understand the issue raised by the Deputy regarding the leisure sector given the profile that was received before the summer. The Deputy knows as well as I do that I cannot comment now on any budget day decisions on any sector. I will observe that any response by...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Scrutiny: Minister for Finance (17 Sep 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am saying that we would only significantly change our budgetary position if a no-deal Brexit actually happens.