Results 15,041-15,060 of 26,396 for speaker:David Cullinane

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: I am not a layperson, but I do worry about things and I ask the Minister for Finance for comfort when I am concerned about matters to do with finance. I asked a parliamentary question on 24 May 2016 and received a response from the former Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, which I am sure was compiled by civil servants. I dealt specifically with intangible assets and growth-fixed capital...

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: That may be true, but it would have been great if it was included in the response to my parliamentary question last year. I would have been able to see that the investment side does not have any impact, that it is neutral and would not have any distorting impact on GDP, but that the depreciation of the assets would have an impact.

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: I will read it all out. It was: "To ask the Minister for Finance the gross fixed capital formation for investment in aircraft for leasing and intangibles for core investment, excluding investment in aircraft for leasing and intangibles"-----

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: I am not finished; it is a long question. "[....] for public investment at market prices, the level of gross fixed capital formation in total as a percentage of gross domestic product; the level of gross fixed capital formation, excluding investment in aircraft for leasing and intangibles, expressed as a percentage of GDP; the debt to GDP ratio; the effect of exclusion from GDP of investment...

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: Is that the depreciation on assets, or-----

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: As such, we now have a depreciation on assets and also a depreciation on research and development-related intellectual property.

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: I flew too low is right. In any event, I still think there was a sleight of hand in how the percentage was calculated. Can I ask a quick question about the profits of re-domiciled firms? I am trying to understand that as well. Let us say that company A makes X in profits, and those profits are taxed in Ireland. The economic activity which underpin those profits, the production of the...

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: Exactly. That is it. It might not make the goods here. They are made in Belgium, France or Germany, but the company is in Ireland because of our corporation tax rates, availing of the incentives we give them, including at one point the double Irish. When we look at the real distorting elements, is the full picture that Ireland is essentially a tax haven? Is that what the figures show?

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: Mr. McCarthy would not say it, but is it a possibility?

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: Firms that do not make anything here.

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: However, they put their profits here, some of them paying less than-----

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: Exactly.

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: Hang on a second. That purely national accounting element is then calculated into the GDP, which is the problem.

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: Sorry, I meant to say GNI.

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: I meant to say GNI.

Public Accounts Committee: Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2016
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 24 - Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (19 Apr 2018)

David Cullinane: As a final observation, a lot of this area is very complex, and it may be deliberately so. I was sincere in saying that Mr. McCarthy is very capable and knowledgeable on it, which is good. I ask him to give the committee a detailed note on it, because-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (29 Mar 2018)

David Cullinane: I apologise for being late. I got stuck in traffic.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (29 Mar 2018)

David Cullinane: There seems to be an over-reliance on the voluntary code of practice. I agree with my colleague that there is no sanction on any of this. At what point do we advocate that there should be sanction? We had a periodic report and we dealt with some of this. It is not our role to sanction. All we can do is hold public bodies to account. I imagine we can in future reports advocate there...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (29 Mar 2018)

David Cullinane: I would not want to appear before the committee anyway and that is for sure. In respect of the last paragraph of Mr. Watt's letter, I suppose we could be helpful to him because we do like to help out Accounting Officers. He states, "Notwithstanding the above, I will give consideration as to whether it might be appropriate to develop specific guidelines in terms of expenditure on staff...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (29 Mar 2018)

David Cullinane: If we are going to hold it over, perhaps the Comptroller and Auditor General could do a note for us for the next meeting. The Secretary General has now given an instruction that the post reviews be published and we should welcome that because that is a positive that came from our hearings and putting a spotlight on it. In respect of the post-project reviews, does Mr. McCarthy know now who...