Results 17,941-17,960 of 35,756 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Permanent TSB and KBC Bank (28 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Every application is individual and we are not going into individual, commercially sensitive information, but are there any trends in the reasons for KBC's objections and the level of objections?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Permanent TSB and KBC Bank (28 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: We discussed mortgage-to-rent earlier with Permanent TSB, and AIB has announced that it is entering an arrangement with the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation. David Hall of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation is on record as saying that he is engaging with other financial institutions about the potential of a similar arrangement with this new housing agency to purchase properties, and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Ombudsman Remit (28 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 87. To ask the Minister for Finance the approach taken by the Financial Services Ombudsman to complaints related to tracker mortgages and the lenders' implementation of the Central Bank's instructions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41010/17]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Ombudsman Administration (28 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 88. To ask the Minister for Finance if there have been technical issues with the Financial Services Ombudsman's online complaint submission process; if so, the issue; the length of time it lasted; the number of complaints that were delayed or lost as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41011/17]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Ombudsman Remit (28 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 87. To ask the Minister for Finance the approach taken by the Financial Services Ombudsman to complaints related to tracker mortgages and the lenders' implementation of the Central Bank's instructions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41010/17]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Ombudsman Administration (28 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 88. To ask the Minister for Finance if there have been technical issues with the Financial Services Ombudsman's online complaint submission process; if so, the issue; the length of time it lasted; the number of complaints that were delayed or lost as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41011/17]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Status (28 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 189. To ask the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive an appointment at Our Lady’s hospital, Manorhamilton; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41124/17]

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Cuirím fáilte roimh an Aire agus roimh a fhoireann go dtí an coiste anseo. I thank the officials in the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for their assistance. My party has submitted about 1,000 questions on an alternative budget. The Minister will be glad to hear that Fianna Fáil is not compiling an alternative budget so at the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I want to talk about the definition that the Taoiseach used yesterday during Leaders' Questions in response to our request that he should subsidise child care. He said he would balance the books for the first time in ten years and that meant the Government would spend as much as it takes in. Is that the case? The summer economic statement suggests that there would be a deficit in 2018.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I understand. For clarity's sake, the budget that the Minister will introduce is not going to be one that will balance the books in conventional terms. It is one where the income will meet or exceed expenditure. Has the Government departed from the summer economic statement, which suggests that we are looking at €335 million deficit in 2018?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: According to the summer economic statement that translates into a deficit of €330 million. Is that correct?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I completely accept that. I want to ask about the margin of compliance. The Fiscal Advisory Council has told this committee that the net fiscal space is €650 million. I understand from the summer economic statement, and page 20 of the report compiled by the Fiscal Advisory Council, that that is the case and the two figures are the same. The difference is that the Government has...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: The fiscal rules do not ask us to achieve that target. In terms of complying with the fiscal rules, the net fiscal space would be €650 million. Is that correct? The fiscal rules at this point in time are the expenditure benchmark and there is an improvement of 0.6%.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: The reduction is Government policy as opposed to the rules that are being forced on us by Europe or the rules we have agreed with Europe. In terms of the MTO, by reducing the fiscal space by €150 million the Government believes it will hit 0.5%. Is the calculation exactly 0.5%? Is the figure lower? Is the figure rounded up or down?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: By reducing the fiscal space by €150 million allows the Government 0.54% of additionality. That is all it is because it is a factor of the GDP. Therefore, if the Government did not have the margin of compliance the structural balance would come in at 0.554%. Is that correct?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I asked Mr. McCarthy that question earlier and he told me it was 0.5%.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: The margin of compliance is three quarters of a percentage point. I have made that point that the margin of compliance applied by the Minister is just over half of a percentage point. Is he not being ultra cautious in reducing the fiscal space that we really need this year in order to reach a target that we do not need to reach under the fiscal rules?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: This will be the first time the Minister will introduce a budget as Minister for Finance. It has been reported in the last couple of days that the Minister has transferred shares he has into his wife's name.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: It is a conflict of interest issue.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee
Ex-ante Scrutiny of Budget 2018 (Resumed): Minister for Finance (27 Sep 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I can talk about whether the Minister-----