Results 18,821-18,840 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: It is €12 billion.

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: Yes, it has.

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: Yes, that is correct.

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: Indeed. It would be over the lifetime of the entire budget plan, and while €12 billion is a gigantic and vast amount, it is in the context of the more than €1 trillion the Commission is looking to raise in this budget.

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: At the end of 2017 the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 68%. That is a reduction of 2.1 percentage points on where I estimated it would be last year.

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: Yes. By the end of this year the debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 66% and, therefore, the 60% target as mandated by the Stability and Growth Pact should be reached before the end of 2021. My position on windfall gains is unchanged. The approach I used, for example, on the proceeds from the sale of AIB in the past will continue to be my approach in the future. What we do all of...

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 under consideration all the time. Such stories and analysis have regularly been written about my views over the past year. We keep it under review all of the time and look at where market conditions stand, but, as the Deputy will be aware, we also have a programme for Government commitment in relation to this matter.

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: Yes, I am. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has published papers reviewing where we stand on the issue. We think we are doing okay on it. One issue I am aware of, which I fed into the process, is that sometimes we think of demographics in terms of what happens within social protection and we let that guide our thinking, principally about people getting older, but we have 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: Approximately €64 billion. I refer to the banking end of it. We are making good progress to ensure that we will recoup approximately €30 billion of that in time through the State gradually unwinding its ownership of the banking system. However, that will take time and is subject to all the conditions I outlined in response to Deputy Michael McGrath.

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: First, I will deal with some of the assumptions underpinning the Senator's question. There is no doubt at all that Ireland paid dearly for design flaws in the single currency zone and banking union. The architecture was incomplete and the cost for Ireland was high in dealing with that, but many other decisions were made domestically that had nothing to do with that, which created 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: -----in how we are different now compared with the past, each of which is important. First, the level of capital our banks and European banks, in particular, hold, is significantly higher than in the past. The regulatory framework for banks, particularly systemically risky banks, has been transformed. Second, the fiscal rules are better scoped and better implemented than they were in...

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 know how the Senator deduced that from the answer I gave, given that on a number of occasions publicly and before this committee I have said that external instability is a big concern. With regard to Italy, I will never comment on a decision people make in another country and the government they choose. That is their business. I would not want a politician in another country...

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: There are two big sources of preparedness. I touched on the first one in the answer I gave to the Senator about a strengthened European architecture. Of course, we have the European Stability Mechanism that has €500 billion. That did not exist when we went through our darkest nights. It was created during these crises. We have a €500 billion fund and the Single Supervisory...

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 was referring to America. I believe we will see American corporate tax receipts begin to increase and there are three reasons that this will happen. First, as members will have seen, the American political system has taken the decision to put in place a fiscal stimulus for its economy that is at or approaching full employment. Second, America has made a decision on the minimum global...

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 deal with this matter daily and nearly every day I meet investors and potential investors in Ireland at CEO level. As things stand, my latest assessment is that the package that we have will enable Ireland to be competitive versus that change. The implementation of the policies of the Senator's party would significantly affect and worsen the situation.

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 competitiveness that Ireland has in that area stands protected, but we must always keep it under very careful review.

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 not just the case of what I want to do, and I will do much. I point to the efforts made by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed. As recently as last Thursday, he met the Ministers for agriculture from France, Spain and Portugal. They issued a statement on the issue which laid out their grave concerns about the current proposal for CAP. The Minister said...

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 am well aware of the issues mentioned by the Senator. I am especially aware of the issues in the west in terms of the policy proposal that the Commission has put forward. That being said, how funds are managed and allocated is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I provide the funding for where Ireland might end up and agree the total Government position. 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: That is a matter for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross.

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: Yes, I am. I know that the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring, is working very hard to ensure that we take advantage of what is available to us. He ensures that his Department draws down all of the funds that are available and at the correct time. He also has had a lot of engagement with local authorities on this matter to ensure that the available funding is drawn...