Results 261-280 of 406 for speaker:Charlie McCreevy

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (3 Feb 2004)

Charlie McCreevy: As the Deputy may be aware, I intend to introduce legislation in the House shortly to give effect to the public service pension reforms announced in budget 2004. This legislation is being drafted by the parliamentary counsel. It would not be appropriate, at this time, to comment on individual cases which may or may not fall within the ambit of the legislation. I can assure the Deputy,...

Written Answers — Departmental Travel: Departmental Travel (3 Feb 2004)

Charlie McCreevy: The amount paid out from my Department's Vote in 2003 in respect of car mileage expenses was €94,945.01. The amount paid out in the period 1 May to 31 December 2003 in respect of rail and bus ticket expenses was €3,507.36. In the time available, it would not be possible to provide the detailed rail and bus ticket expenses figure for the first four months of 2003, because this information...

Seanad: Benchmarking: Motion. (8 Oct 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I welcome the amendment put forward by my colleague, Senator Mansergh. This issue was debated fully in the Lower House last week but I welcome the opportunity to outline the Government's position to Senators. The Fine Gael motion asks the Government to break an agreement reached only last January with the social partners, with consequent effects on the continuation of Sustaining Progress and...

Seanad: Benchmarking: Motion. (8 Oct 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: They were to make a list of what they would do in the event of the outbreak of war. In the Department of Finance, as Senator O'Toole should know, the number one item was to suspend the conciliation and arbitration scheme. That is part of the complexity of dealing with public sector pay. As Senator O'Toole, who has operated on behalf of teachers all his working life, would know, if some other...

Seanad: Benchmarking: Motion. (8 Oct 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: However, there is a limit in that regard. I remember Opposition politicians from 1999 onwards asking when the benchmarking body's report would come in for such and such a group and saying that it should be paid immediately. A Fine Gael Member of the other House, who was the spokesperson on education, wanted the award for teachers implemented immediately the benchmarking body had reported. Now...

Seanad: Benchmarking: Motion. (8 Oct 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: There are people who would question whether one can measure the private and public sectors against each other. Can one measure the work of a garda against that of anyone else? Can one measure the work of a teacher? Some people have an ideological and conceptual difficulty with that. Nevertheless, everyone is happy because the people we put on the body were above reproach. There were judges...

Seanad: Benchmarking: Motion. (8 Oct 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: There are people who have difficulty with the process, but most people did not speak up. I do not remember anyone in this House speaking up against the concept at the time. If they did, it escaped me. There was the odd commentator outside who had difficulty with the concept, but there was no one inside the Houses of the Oireachtas. Now, following the report, for some reason some media...

Seanad: Benchmarking: Motion. (8 Oct 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: People have to understand that if we went down that particular route, the whole basis on which we set up this group would be set at naught. The implementation of the increases was negotiated with the unions in the context of the current national agreement. It had already been agreed under the PPF that one quarter would be paid with effect from December 2001. As part of the public service pay...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: Recommendations Nos. 3 and 4 propose to increase the basic personal tax credits from €1,520 to €2,000 for single persons and from €3,040 to €4,000 for married persons. The cost of the increase proposed by the Senator, taking account of the consequential increase in the one-parent family tax credits, would be €557 million in 2003 and €777 million in the full year. This cost...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I agree.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I do not have the Fianna Fáil election manifesto with me, but I have a clear recollection of what is in the taxation section. We committed nothing. It stated that whenever resources were available, any scope for taxation cuts would be concentrated on the lower paid. We said the least of all the parties about personal taxation. Senator Higgins's party promised intermediate cuts in tax rates...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I said we would not increase tax rates. However, we did not give any commitments. We said that any resources we had would be concentrated on that area. As regards the PPF, it stated that over time we would take those on the minimum wage out of the tax net. The last Fianna Fáil election manifesto contained the minimum on taxation.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: As regards the second question, Senator McDowell used the freedom of the House to allude to a policy in which I believe. Everybody should make a little contribution to the State. There should be a mythical box in a computer which shows Joe Smith's contribution during his working life. It might only be 1 cent per week during the times he has worked. I agree with the Senator. It does not mean...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: That will depend on the economic circumstances.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: The total personal tax package this year is €186 million. I considered at one stage that I would not do anything in the taxation area. The only two things I did related to the employee credit and to the 65 year old exemption which was increased by an amount that did not cost much. Depending on the economic circumstances next year, I will not have any hesitation in doing the same or less.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I want to be clear about this. It was the same with the PPF, as the social partners recognised when they included the proviso of over time and subject to the overarching goal of sustainable public finances. If it can be done, we will do it. Senator McDowell will know, having contested the last election, that there was no contest between us and the other parties in the taxation area. We have...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: In this area of taxation, Sustaining Progress, states: To the extent that there is any scope for personal tax reductions, progress will continue to be made over the three budgets contained within the lifetime of this Agreement towards removing those on the minimum wage from the tax net, moving towards the target where 80% of all earners pay tax at not more than the standard rate.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: It is a pity Senator McDowell is not in the Dáil and that the people of Dublin North-Central did not re-elect him. Irrespective of my disagreements with him, I thought he performed exceptionally well as Opposition spokesperson and I said so publicly before he lost his seat. I did my sums in regard to the €635 I took back in the previous budget. I got the Department of Finance to go back...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I have discussed this matter with Senator O'Toole in a private capacity. It is impossible to do it without losers. The only way it could be done would be to compensate losers.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: Both of us had better be ten years gone before the full story is told about many things. I am glad the Senator has referred to the report of the benchmarking body. That was an agreement that came about voluntarily between the Government and the social partners. When it set up the process and reported, some of the critics expected the Government to say it would walk away from the deal. Part of...