Results 281-300 of 1,041,583 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Richard Bruton OR speaker:Michael Moynihan OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Martin Heydon OR speaker:Denise Mitchell) in 'Committee meetings'

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I nominate Deputy Aindrias Moynihan.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the witnesses for their contributions. They are very interesting and timely. There are a lot of commonalities in what they have said. IFAC's submission makes for stark reading. We would be in a deficit of more than €5 billion if it was not for the windfall tax. This is difficult for people to understand. It would suggest there has not been good management of the economy...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Obviously projects such as the western rail corridor, which is shovel ready and not greatly labour intensive, and the rebalancing of the regions are very important. I hate to think what would happen if we did head into recession again with such a deficit of infrastructure in regions. We would tip over completely.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: We obviously have to invest in infrastructure, including the infrastructure Dr. McDonnell has talked about. Putting funds away until 2040 is all well and good and it is laudable, but we need to fix the infrastructure to maintain our competitiveness and expand foreign direct investment in order to ensure we are not reliant on three multinational companies. That is hugely important. Dr....

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Basically, we are spending a lot of money but we are not spending it in the right places. If we were to go into a budget and again give tax reliefs, such as on inheritance tax, rather than targeting, that would be the wrong thing to do.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I have a question for the Central Bank that I need to ask. I apologise, I may get back in again, but I have to speak in the Dáil. I need to ask the Central Bank about its decision to renew the agreement to facilitate the sale of Israeli sovereign bonds, and how that reconciles with ISIF, which said it would divest from six Israeli companies active in the occupied territories. It is a...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is that a legal requirement in domestic law or in European law?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I appreciate that, but I am sure that Dr. Kelly understands that people are absolutely horrified that our own Central Bank would facilitate the sale of war bonds when there is a genocide and more than 40,000 people have been slaughtered in the past months. It is appalling, but it is something we will take up with the Governor of the Central Bank when he comes in to the finance committee. I...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I think my time is up now.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: On the topic of trains, the all-island rail review and the western rail corridor, we have the opportunity to do what needs to be done there. You only have to look at the map to see the absolute lack of rail services from that area up to Sligo and Donegal, and the Minister, Deputy Chambers, will know this. There is an opportunity now and there is no excuse whatsoever not to do it. Cork...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is it much in excess of €6 billion?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: But the Minister knows what it is now.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It is okay but it will be in excess of that, so obviously there is an improved revenue forecast for 2025. We will see that on budget day.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: When does the Minister expect the Apple tax to come in and how does he expect it to come in?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: We could even have another Government providing that information. Imagine that.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It will be up to the people. We had some good presentations before the Minister came in. One of them was from NERI. Its representatives said in their statement, which really struck me, that we have an economy of winners and losers. Net household wealth is at record levels on one hand while material deprivation is rising on the other. Will the Minister speak to that. Are they right?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: If we were to take out the one-off payments, they would not be progressive, would they? These are the measurements I have seen. It is adding in the windfall that-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is the Minister saying they would not be as necessary this year to the extent they were last year because of interest rates and inflation decreasing?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I will reiterate what the ESRI said regarding material deprivation and the inability of households to afford essentials increasing markedly between 2022 and 2023, especially for children. While we congratulate ourselves on budget decisions, the figures relating to child poverty and deprivation speak for themselves. Reference was made to inheritance tax. NERI has stated that inheritance...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Engagement (18 Sep 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The Minister would favour that over addressing the worsening intergenerational inequity. While he is here, I want to ask him about an issue that came up earlier today with regard to the Central Bank. The Central Bank has renewed the agreement to facilitate the sale of Israeli sovereign bonds. ISIF said earlier this year that it would divest from six Israeli companies active in the occupied...