Results 21-40 of 27,727 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Customs and Excise (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: -----or we would have seen an 8 cent per litre increase last month.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Customs and Excise (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: It is just as well I did not take the advice or we would have seen an 8 cent per litre increase last month----------

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Customs and Excise (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: Sinn Féin advocated for an 8 cent increase in petrol last month. It is just as well I did not take the Deputy's advice.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for the question. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which is a business unit of the NTMA, is statutorily independent and is subject to oversight by its investment committee and the NTMA's board. My officials are in contact with the NTMA on an ongoing basis across a range of issues, including those arising from the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023. On...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: Perhaps I could write to the Deputy with detail of the investments that have been divested. The majority of what was announced has been completed at this stage. She will acknowledge that difficult and harrowing as the issue is with the occupied West Bank and the conflict and the terrible events happening in Gaza because of the excessive use of force by the Israel Defense Forces, it is not...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for his contribution. As he will know, I increased the vacant homes tax rate in the last budget. Just to give him the numbers, the Revenue has confirmed that as of 2 April this year, over 6,000 properties have been declared as vacant with exemptions being declared in respect of approximately 2,500 of these properties. Approximately 3,500 properties have a liability to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The vacant homes tax, as the Deputy knows, is targeting habitable properties. The Deputy is raising a number of other issues which are important and relevant when it comes to properties which are vacant but which in many instances are also derelict. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, published the Vacant Homes Action Plan 2023-2026 and last month the progress report from April...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Customs and Excise (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Doherty for his question. The Government is conscious of the implications of fuel costs for all sectors of society. This is reflected in the fact that in 2022, in light of the acute impact rising prices were having on households and businesses, the Government provided for temporary cuts in excise rates which, inclusive of VAT, amounted to 21 cents, 16 cents and 5.4 cents per...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Customs and Excise (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: As I said earlier, and I am happy to repeat it, I will keep the situation under review in advance of the final restoration which is due on 1 August. There is considerable volatility when it comes to fuel prices, not least because of the movement in the cost of a barrel of oil which is only one input cost. It increased in recent weeks. It fell back again but it is moving in both...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Credits (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I do not accept the Deputy's assertion in that regard. I point to the fact that almost 22,000 taxpayer units, some of whom may be couples given the way they are counted by the Revenue Commissioners, made a claim for this relief as part of their 2023 PAYE income tax return. I expect that many more will do so over the eligibility period. Although it was an estimate, the figure provided to me...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Credits (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I do not accept that at all. This is a non-refundable tax credit. There was engagement with the Revenue Commissioners for many months in the lead-up to the budget last October. They were very clear with me and my officials that it was not possible to put in place the necessary IT infrastructure to-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Credits (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: No, not at all.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Credits (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: There was very early engagement with the Revenue Commissioners on that issue.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Credits (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy raised the cases of specific individuals. From what he has said, I assume they do not have an income tax liability and are therefore not able to avail of a non-refundable tax credit. I am following up on that issue with Revenue and the Department of Social Protection. There is a need for information sharing between the two but a commitment was given that people who do not have a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties in the housing market and the challenges this continues to present for many people and families as they seek a new home, often their first. With regard to vacant properties, the need to address vacancy and to ensure all viable housing stock is being used is a priority for the Government. In Housing for All, the Government has set out a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Credits (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for the question. Mortgage interest tax relief, in the form of the mortgage interest tax credit, introduced in the most recent budget, is a one-year temporary relief available to homeowners with an outstanding mortgage balance on their principal private residence of between €80,000 and €500,000 on 31 December 2022. It is available at the standard rate of...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Second Stage (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I am pleased to be in the Seanad this afternoon to take Second Stage of the Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024. This debate follows an extensive engagement to date, including with the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach for prelegislative scrutiny, on Committee Stage in the Dáil and also with the budgetary...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Residential Zoned Land Tax or RZLT was introduced in Finance Act 2021 and seeks to increase housing supply by encouraging the activation of development on lands which are suitably zoned and appropriately serviced. RZLT, which is an action under Housing for All, aims to bring those lands which have benefitted from investment in services and are capable of being developed forward for...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Help to Buy scheme is administered by Revenue to assist first-time buyers with buying or building a new house or apartment. The scheme gives a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to qualifying criteria outlined in the legislation. In the July 2020 stimulus plan, the scheme was amended so that the level...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consumer Protection (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: There is generally a condition in insurance policies that, under the terms of the contract, an insurer may assume control and deal with the settlement of any claim. This is the contractual position, and there is generally no requirement that an insurer seek a policyholder’s approval before settling a third-party claim. As the Deputy will be aware, the duties of insurers with...