Results 4,321-4,340 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banks Recapitalisation (17 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: As I have said previously I see no benefit in making an application for retrospective use of the ESM's Direct Recapitalisation Instrument (DRI). During the period between June 2012, when the agreement was reached regarding retrospective recapitalisation, and December 2014, when the DRI tool became operational, the Irish economy recovered significantly and the options available for the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Exemptions (17 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: As with all tax areas capital acquisitions tax, including the details of rates, tax-free thresholds, reliefs and exemptions, is kept under review. As part of Budget 2016 I raised the Group A threshold applying to gifts and inheritance from parents to their children from €225,000 to €280,000. This represented an increase of about 25%. I did this in recognition of the improving...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Programme for Government (17 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Officials in my Department are currently reviewing the content of the Programme for Government and, in this case, the matter of the establishment of a rainy day fund. This commitment forms part of the stated aim of this and the previous Government to maintain sound public finances. In considering this commitment, my officials are examining the necessary key features of such a fund,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Relief Availability (17 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy may be aware that, subject to certain limits, contributions to pension schemes and products are relieved from income tax at the individual's marginal rate. This is a generous relief intended to encourage pension saving. The growth of pension funds is also exempt from tax. Upon retirement a person is generally entitled to a potentially quite sizable tax-free lump sum, with the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Tax (17 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Section 156 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides the legal basis by which any arrears of Household Charge that were still outstanding on 1 July 2013 were converted to a Local Property Tax liability of €200 per property. Section 156 also made Revenue responsible for collecting the arrears. Specifically, Section 156(3) provides that any liability to Household Charge...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Union Fund (17 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I have been informed by the Central Bank that section 44 of the Credit Union Act, 1997 provides that a credit union may establish a special fund to be used by the credit union for such social, cultural or charitable purposed (including community development) where it is approved by a resolution passed by a majority of its members present and voting at a general meeting. Funds established...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Dormant Accounts Fund (17 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Dormant Accounts legislation is a matter for the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government (DECLG). The Dormant Accounts Act, 2001 (as amended) provides for accounts in credit institutions to be transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund when an account has been dormant for 15 years. Credit unions are currently not subject to the dormant accounts legislation....

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: God help us.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Chairman. I thank the committee members for inviting me to discuss the important challenges this country must address as regards housing and homelessness. I also want to wish the committee well in its work. I hope that its work will stimulate debate on further actions that may be warranted to address the constraints impeding the housing sector. Indeed, these issues were an...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy. VAT is something we will look at. A document was published earlier in our discussions on forming a Government where we signalled this area as one in which a possible initiative would be taken. We were in government six weeks in 2011 when we reduced the VAT on the tourism industry from 13.5% to 9%. The tourism industry attributes to that the lifting of the industry off...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: The take-up is very slow. Much of that is to do with the building industry being on the ground anyway and people not going into it. It was largely directed at disused Georgian houses, especially in Limerick and parts of Dublin. Given the many planning constraints on the development of such houses, they are probably more expensive to renovate. We confined the tax break to owner-occupiers...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Yes, and this makes it more expensive to deal with them. The Chairman knows my approach to these matters. One does something and hopes it works but if it does not work, one tries something else or modifies what one did. We keep it under review. If there is no take-up, we will have to revisit it. I am reluctant to extend the benefits to developers rather than owner-occupiers. We tried...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: There was a major change around 2004 in the role of local authorities in the provision of social housing. The movement was away from the councils constructing what we used to call council houses to having money to purchase them on the market. Although it was introduced by a Fianna Fáil Minister, I was one of the strong supporters of the new policy. I agreed with the arguments about...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: The Chairman's first point is that if taxes are reduced, they will pay for themselves.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I have been around for a good while and I have been looking for a self-financing tax break for years but I have not yet found one. While I agree with the Chairman that the gross cost might not be the gross figure, there is no self-financing tax break that I know of. There is always a cost to the Exchequer for any tax break. People looking for tax breaks always say, "This will pay for...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I thank Deputy Brassil for his questions. His country is like my country. I know his part of Kerry. It is not so different from west Limerick, where I came from originally. Deputy Brassil is right in that there are a lot of unused property in small towns and villages, but much of this is for social reasons as much as economic reasons. It is the ambition of every young working couple...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: It depends on the model it uses. One of the officials will respond.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: That is unless a PPP model can be devised. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has been examining this for quite a while and it has not yet proposed a model to me that is off-balance sheet.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: To respond first to Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, I indicated that the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, under the auspices of the National Treasury Management Agency, was providing funding to increase the supply of housing. For example, the ISIF is now in partnership with the private equity firm KKR to support the construction of 11,000 new homes. This €500 million fund, known as...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Airbnb is looking for a tax break also and wants the room to rent to apply to it. One can see the reasons we will not concede on that issue. The room to rent is for the home owners. It has some potential but not an awful lot. On the question of land, there is land in public ownership and there is land owned by various State agencies and so on. I am disposed to put a fund in place of,...