Paul Kehoe is the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and Defence with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip. He is a Fine Gael TD for the Wexford constituency, a seat which he has kept since 2002.
The whip system – where TDs must vote with their party position or risk expulsion – is the subject of some debate in political circles but immediate reform, ahead of potentially divisive abortion debate, appears unlikely.
The Budget, property tax, abortion, bank debt, Luke Ming Flanagan’s t-shirts and James Reilly’s statements – some of what we can expect as the Dáil returns this week.
As we approach the end of another Dáil term, we’ve been asking the government and the opposition how the much-vaunted sittings of the Dáil on the first Friday of every month have been working out.
The Health Minister is to give a personal statement this evening following revelations that his name has appeared on a debt defaulters list in relation to a nursing home purchase.
INDEPENDENT TD MICK Wallace has been given permission to make a personal statement in the Dáil this afternoon about his tax affairs.
Government chief whip Paul Kehoe has confirmed that the TD has been allocated fifteen minutes to make a statement at the end of Dáil business today. It is expected to take place at around 5pm.
The whips for the five main Dáil groupings had recommended that Wallace be allowed to make the statement after his original request was turned down by Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl has said that Wallace should resign and that his party would support a motion of censure of the indepenent TD which is reportedly now being considered by the government.
Despite the party’s poor performances in the presidential election and Dublin West by-election, Paul Kehoe has insisted that there is no crisis within Fine Gael.
In tonight’s fix: What’s been happening on the #Aras11 campaign trail; Amanda Knox learns her fate and who reckons they could be like the Queen of England?
Every hour – on the half hour – TheJournal.ie brings you your fix of election tallies, predictions and results. Here’s how the winners and losers of GE11 are playing out so far.
AT A HIGH-profile US Senate meeting, technology giant Apple was accused of using Ireland as a ‘tax haven’.
The multinational firm, which employs 4,000 people in Ireland, reportedly avoided paying €34 billion in US taxes by negotiating a tax rate of less than 2 per cent with the Irish government – significantly lower than that nation’s 12.5 per cent statutory rate.
The Senate heard that American children are losing out on education because Apple is transferring profits to Irish subsidiaries.
However, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has denied that Ireland is a tax haven and rejected claims that authorities had negotiated deals with multi-national companies.
So, today we want to know, what do you think? Should Ireland be tougher on multi-national companies when it comes to tax?
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