Results 1,781-1,800 of 35,540 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: We touched on some of these topics earlier. The section allows for the Minister to make a reduced payment into the fund. I want to circle back to a point I made earlier. It is all, half or nothing in this regard. He mentioned in his contribution that this may give certainty to the NTMA. I would dispute that because the agency will not be certain about any money going into the fund given...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I agree with the Minister regarding the up side risks. I have made that point. My assessment is that I do not think Pillar 1 will be in effect in 2026, which is a large up side for the State during that year. There are other up side risks. I made the point that this is so broad that it allows the Minister to bring the resolutions. I do not like the language in this. The issue here is...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: -----or is likely to be. That would be in the context of a Government increasing capital investment to meet the housing needs of the State, which is building up the stock of assets within the State. Is it a deterioration or a significant deterioration in the fiscal position of the State? The Government could still have a surplus at the end of that process or just not put it into the fund...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Let us look at the language. I am aware that investors will look at this in the round but I am talking about what the legislation forces the Minister for Finance to state in the Dáil, which has an impact. We understand that investors are not going to just look at headlines when they are making their investments and I take the Minister's point on that. Let us take a scenario, however,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister gives an example of a Minister for Finance putting in the funds, which is what the Government is legislating for beyond 2034.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister acknowledges that, so he is bringing forward legislation to do exactly that type-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I believe that 2035 is the relevant year.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: That has been legislated for. The Minister queried my point on having a modest surplus, an example of which I gave as €1 billion, and why would the Government not put money into the fund. Is it the Minister's assessment that if there was a general Government balance of €1 billion the Government would still have to put €6.5 billion into the fund or, indeed, almost half...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: So even if the fiscal position is improving does the Minister believe that the section allows for the Minister to make that assessment?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Okay.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister has addressed some of the issues concerning the draw down of funding in response to amendments tabled by Deputy Nash. The Bill does not specify what use would be made of the transfers from the fund from 2041 onwards. Is there a reason for that? We have discussed some of the demographic challenges in terms of ageing, particularly pensions and health ageing costs. I ask the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Yes. What is the annual rate of return those numbers are based on? Is it 5%?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. I thank the Minister.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 8: In page 12, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “ “designated housing project” has the meaning assigned to it by section 21;”. This amendment moves us on to the infrastructure, climate and nature fund, as opposed to the future Ireland fund. "Infrastructure, climate and nature fund" is a nice name, but the only drawdowns...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I am sorry, but I did not get what the Minister was saying at the end. The amendments before us do not alter the total amount that can be drawn down, that is, the cumulative amount of €3.15 billion by 2030. Instead of just having designated environmental projects, I also include designated housing projects and therefore, within the portion of that fund from 2026 on, it could be used...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister mentioned "by any yardstick". No one is taking away that there are more houses being built than in previous years, but let us look at other yardsticks. Homelessness, house prices and rents have increased every year since the Minister has been in government. Those are other yardsticks to measure whether the collective efforts of Government are actually working. This is...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 9: In page 12, line 26, to delete “designated environmental projects” and substitute “designated environmental projects or designated housing projects”.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: In the rest of this legislation, in the main, many of these sections are just a repeat of the sections we have had before. I wish to record that my observations in respect of many of these sections are similar to those in respect of earlier sections. However, I do not want to repeat them because they are cut and paste. Is that okay? I just wanted to put that on record.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: This is a section where there is a bit of difference from the previous one in respect of the future Ireland fund. To make sure I am reading this correctly, can I clarify that this section provides that where there is or is likely to be a significant deterioration in the economic or fiscal position of the State, not more than 25% of the net asset value of the fund can be drawn down to support...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 13: In page 16, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “Designated housing projects 21. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may designate in writing a housing project (in this Part referred to as a “designated housing project”) where he or she is satisfied that the project contributes directly or indirectly, or is...