Results 181-200 of 27,590 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Tax Debt Warehousing scheme has provided vital and practical liquidity support to businesses by assisting them with their cash-flow during difficult trading periods. The Scheme allowed businesses to temporarily defer VAT and Employer PAYE, certain self-assessed income tax liabilities, and Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme overpayments on an interest-free...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Reports (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy is aware the Housing for All Investment Workstream, chaired by the Department of Finance, was established to support the delivery of the Government's Housing for All plan. A key commitment of the Investment Workstream has been to advance the understanding of the funding landscape for the residential development. In 2023, the Department published a comprehensive report on the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Reviews (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy is aware, in July 2023, I announced an extension to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) funding programme to deliver new homes, with a new €400 million allocation for equity-based investments in new housing projects. This allocation builds on ISIF’s existing housing related commitments of €1.2 billion which has supported the delivery of 11,250...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Schemes (11 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Help to Buy (HTB) scheme assists first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The scheme provides for a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to certain conditions being met. One of the key policy aims of the HTB scheme is to incentivise the construction of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pension Provisions (11 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: The well-established policy objective for tax relief on pension contributions is to encourage individuals to save for retirement; to help meet a targeted level of supplementary pension coverage and income replacement; and to assist in preventing an over-reliance on State support for citizens in later life, particularly given emerging demographic developments. Accordingly, pensions have...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (11 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I am advised by Revenue that traders are not required to identify the VAT yield generated from the supply of specific goods and services on their VAT returns. Therefore, it is not possible to provide the value of VAT collected with respect to petrol and diesel using information provided on tax returns. However, using Revenue’s excise clearances volumes and available third party data...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Exemptions (11 Apr 2024)

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

Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Second Stage (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.” As announced at budget 2024, this Bill will provide the basis for two new funds: the future Ireland fund and the infrastructure, climate and nature fund. It will also provide for the dissolution of the National Reserve Fund. The Government’s approach to developing these two funds is based on the assumption that a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputies. I got the appeals board back up and running. It is now working its way through the backlog. The latest information I have from the secretary of the board is that 834 appellants were on the waiting list as of 21 February. As I said, since the appeals process was reconstituted, 334 appeals have been assessed. The board has prioritised the waiting list using clinically...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Code (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the film industry stakeholder forum that took place on 8 February this year, convened by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and in which I am aware the Deputy was a participant, as he said. The forum was attended by a broad range of stakeholders, including representative bodies from the Irish audiovisual sector,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Code (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: Is that to sign?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 18 and 40 together. The Deputies will be aware that the final report of the national disability inclusion strategy, NDIS, transport working group's review of mobility and transport supports, including the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme, DDS, endorsed proposals for a modern, fit-for-purpose vehicle adaptation scheme in line with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: While I do not have data on the rate of success in the appeals, I can say the volume of activity is much improved and 334 appellants have been assessed since the appeals process recommenced in December. I do not have the split - I am sure it can be provided through parliamentary questions and so on - but it represents a lot of progress. I think well over 1,000 people were on the waiting...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I want to find a way of getting progress for the homeowners as quickly as possible. I know the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are examining the very issue Deputy Doherty raises about the nature of the payments and the early payments, the speed of them and so on. We could go down the road of a State guarantee and all that comes...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Reliefs (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: Section 22 of the Finance Act 2022 removed the difference in treatment between PRSAs and occupational pension schemes in relation to the funding rules, by abolishing the BIK charge on employer contributions to an employee's PRSA. In addition, employer contributions to an employee's PRSA are no longer counted towards an employee's age related and salary percentage limits on tax deductible...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Reliefs (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: This was a policy decision that was taken following careful examination by the interdepartmental group. The final conclusion of the report was that the differential treatment of the PRSAs for funding purposes should be abolished and employer contributions to PRSAs should not be subject to BIK. The interdepartmental report was subject to a public consultation. The responses to the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Reliefs (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I am aware of the proposal made by the society at the time. That was considered. A number of alternative options were explored, including an additional separate BIK limit for employer contributions to PRSAs and the new PRSA product mimicking the salary-based limits on occupational pension schemes to be used where an employer wished to make contributions to an employees PRSA. However,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Prices (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I acknowledge the points that Deputies Nash, Harkin, Pádraig O'Sullivan, Doherty and Danny Healy-Rae have made in respect of this issue. I have given a commitment to keep it under review, in particular as we move through the month of July. I acknowledge and accept that this is a significant issue for forecourt retailers in Border counties. I also acknowledge that there is a wider...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this issue again. As the Deputy will be aware, the overall Government response on the problems associated with defective concrete blocks is being led by my colleague, the Minister for housing. His Department is engaging with impacted householders and relevant stakeholders and has put in place a scheme of financial support to help affected homeowners. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defective Building Materials (10 Apr 2024)

Michael McGrath: There is no reason banks today cannot step in and provide bridging finance to the homeowners concerned. The Ministers, Deputies McConalogue and Darragh O'Brien, and I have discussed this issue again in recent days. As Deputy Doherty knows, the issue with a State guarantee is that it will require legislation and there are potential state-aid issues so I want to find a faster way of getting...