Results 18,761-18,780 of 32,610 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to speak here today on the Government approach to the future EU budget and the next multi-annual financial framework for 2021-27; the country-specific recommendations for Ireland as related to my Department; developments on banking union and the recently published EU legislative proposals for whistleblower legislation. Turning to the first item, the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: I apologise to the Deputy. It will be provided. I have had to liaise with a number of Departments on this matter. I will ensure the material that I committed to provide is supplied this week.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: I believe I have got the balance right. The Deputy made a point about the level of loyalty payments that exist within our national income. I do not accept that this is a feature of aggressive tax planning. Instead, it demonstrates that we have a highly open economy which is deeply integrated into global supply chains. As the Deputy is aware, this country has had an ongoing focus on...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: I reject entirely the Deputy's language of guilt. I am responsible for tax policy and broad economic policy. I have explained to the Deputy why that level of loyalty payment is high. I also I accept that it is high when compared with the European average. However, our is also an economy that has a higher level of foreign direct investment and intellectual property located in it than many...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: I said that I was responsible for the conduct of tax and economic policy. I am very much aware of the struggles and challenges that many people face. I am doing all I can to address those. The Deputy outlined difficulties but, on the other side of the coin, living standards are being rebuilt and we now have levels of investment in public services and capital spending that would have looked...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: That is unlikely. I believe-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy asked me a question.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: I do not believe that will happen. The fiscal rules of the European Commission, of which, I note, the Deputy has become fond of late, make reference to exceptional circumstances. If we were going to spend that money in circumstances that were anything less than exceptional, my Department would not support such a proposal and the challenge to us doing so would be immediate.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: That is one of the reasons it is important that we improve our fiscal position beyond where it is because-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: Let me finish answering the question.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: It is important because, if our situation becomes difficult without there being exceptional circumstances, which is the issue the Deputy is teasing out, our budgetary position will be improved enough to allow us to respond and provide some stimulus to the economy.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: My intention has always been that the rainy day fund would be for use in exceptional circumstances. By an exceptional circumstance I mean, for example, an external shock hitting the economy. If we are facing a more normal economic difficulty, the automatic stabilisers within the economy and an improved budgetary position should allow the Government of the day to spend more.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: I agree with the Deputy on that. I believe one of the biggest contributions we can make, alongside having stable national finances, to making the economy more secure in the future is to better invest in public capital and public infrastructure. That is the reason I flagged before last year's budget a proposal to reduce the contribution to the rainy day fund from €1 billion to...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: In Deputy Doherty's efforts to repeat his soundbites as many times as he can, he has veered into-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: He has veered into the territory of making charges against me that are absolutely ridiculous-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: -----and which do him and his party a disservice.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Doherty-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: What I find very interesting about Sinn Féin at the moment is that despite Deputy Doherty's feigned anger, he and his party leader cannot do enough to get into government. If they ever find themselves in a position that they are in government and if Deputy Doherty ever finds himself in the position of being Minister for Finance or Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I will have...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: -----who cares about the difficulties that people face.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: European Union-Related Matters: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (12 Jun 2018)
Paschal Donohoe: I can understand-----