Results 19,841-19,860 of 35,829 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. In regard-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: The witness mentioned the different divisions within the Department. There is a co-ordinating group that the divisions feed into. With regard to the job descriptions of individuals working within the divisions, how many of them have been assigned Brexit-particular parts to their job description? That would not have been the case heretofore. People with specific responsibilities have now...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I make the point that we are a number of months out from Brexit. The witness's own view was that it was never going to be a soft Brexit. For people like myself and the witness who share that view, there was nothing really major announced in the speech of Ms Theresa May. Her major announcement, in my view, was that she was going to put the vote to the House of Commons at a later stage....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Of course it does. Qualifications are one thing, but experience is another-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: At this point in time, for an organisation with that type of turnover, there may be very little that can be done about it. It is a serious problem. The Secretary General talked about a whole of Government or whole of Department responses in terms of intergovernmental groups in which the Department of Finance participates. Does the Department sit on the interdepartmental group on trade,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: No. I am talking about interdepartmental groups. The officials will know the glossy brochure that the Minister for Finance published as part of the budget, entitled Getting Ireland Brexit Ready.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: In the brochure the Minister mentioned interdepartmental groups on trade and that Revenue sits on the group.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: In which groups does the Department of Finance participate?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Can the Secretary General name the groups please?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I am interested in the group on trade. Earlier we discussed tariffs. Let us consider the brochure prepared by the Department that contains great statistics. It states that the exports of food and beverages to the UK amounts to 65%, traditional manufacturing accounts for 36%, materials 38% and electrical equipment 49%. The tariffs scare people. How many meetings of the interdepartmental...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Brexit is the number one issue at present. It is not good that the Secretary General of the Department of Finance does not know who sits on interdepartmental groups that deal with Brexit. I presume it is one of the four departmental officials. I worry about how prepared we are and how much detail we have on the challenges facing us. I accept that we must have a whole of department...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I have not been reassured by what has been said. I understand that when questions arise, in particular when one seeks specific details on the number of meetings, the witnesses would not have the information to hand. Mr. Moran is the most senior person in the Department of Finance. His officials attend interdepartmental committees that are trying to deal with the challenges posed by Brexit....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Before the budget we had the great unknowns. I mean that the Minister said that we did not know the type of Brexit because we did not know the outcome of the elections. Earlier President-elect Trump was mentioned. Last week I visited Washington to discuss his intentions with a number of Congressmen and senior officials. Trying to read his mind is a difficult job. On my visit there was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Statement of Strategy 2017: Department of Finance (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: That is okay. I wish to raise another point. There has been much talk about Ireland's gain from financial services locating here. Figures have been thrown out in terms of the amount of jobs it would create and dramatic numbers such as 20,000 have appeared in the media, etc. Industry sources have told me that the potential for Ireland's gain from financial services is quite less than that....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Refugee Resettlement Programme (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 56. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if the Government has an integration programme for refugees arriving here; if not, the reason; when an integration programme will be available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2260/17]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank IT Systems (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 78. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of times in the past year and each of the past five years banks operating here have failed to process the payment of workers on schedule due to an operational issue at the bank; the names of the banks involved; the number of occasions each bank failed to make the payments; the estimated number of workers affected in each case; and if he will make...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Portfolio Value (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 90. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of properties owned by NAMA as opposed to property debt owned; the description and approximate vale for each property, both residential and commercial, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2447/17]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 91. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of vacant homes State-backed banks have in their possession as of 16 January 2017; the number they have given or sold to the Housing Agency or any other State body in each of the past five months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2448/17]

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 146. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will ensure that pass holders and all persons eligible for free travel shall continue to receive free travel entitlement on all Expressway routes both now and into the future and that such entitlement shall be respected by those overseeing the routes, irrespective of route operator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2331/17]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Pension Provisions (19 Jan 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 172. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will introduce an agreed pension scheme for community employment scheme supervisors and assistant supervisors; if so, when such a scheme will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2420/17]