Results 5,341-5,360 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Growth (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72, 75, 78, 82 and 85 together. In general, recent indicators have been positive, indicating that the recovery is strengthening in a more sustainable manner. The latest data show that GDP increased by 6.7 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year. This comes on the back of an increase of 7.2 per cent in the first quarter. As a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 83 together. The Deputy will be aware that the Central Bank publishes Residential Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions Statistics on a quarterly basis. Statistics for quarter 2 of this year were published in early September. This publication provided further evidence that progress is being made in addressing mortgage arrears. In summary, the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: In terms of credit availability to SMEs from the banking sector, I would draw the Deputy's attention to the recently published Department of Finance SME Credit Demand Survey April - September 2015 (). A total of 1,500 telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of Irish micro, small and medium SMEs. The survey shows that, when pending applications are excluded, 85%...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that all deposit takers (e.g. banks, building societies, credit unions, Post Office Savings Bank, etc.) are obliged to deduct Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) from all payments of interest made to an account, irrespective of the balance of the account, unless the account qualifies as an exempt account. There is no de minimisamount below which...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, the Government recognises that small businesses, including those in the hotel sector, play a central role in the sustainable recovery of the Irish economy. To facilitate this, Government policy since 2011 has been focused on ensuring that all viable SMEs have access to an appropriate supply of credit from a diverse range of bank and non-bank...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Charges (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: As I stated in my reply to the Deputy in previous Parliamentary Questions (13599/15 and 25134/15) on this subject on 1 April and 23 June 2015, all credit institutions in Ireland are independent commercial entities. I have no statutory role in relation to the charges applied by credit institutions. Section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 requires that...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, I have acknowledged that high mortgage repayments cause difficulties to families and I invited the Governor of the Central Bank to meet me in April to discuss the issue. Following this meeting, a report by the Central Bank on the factors influencing standard variable mortgage rates in Ireland was submitted to my Department and published...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU Membership (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Government's position on developments in relation to British membership of the EU has been clearly articulated, in particular by the Taoiseach and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: we very much want the UK to remain an integral member of the Union. This is important for both our economy and the ongoing development of the excellent bilateral relations Ireland and the UK now...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (18 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the amount of Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) for each of the years the Deputy has sought up to 2014, the latest year for which figures are available, may be accessed under the "Receipts" heading in the "Revenue Net Receipts by Taxhead on an annual basis" table on the Revenue's Statistics webpage: . Receipts for 2015 will be published in...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: The universal social charge, USC, was introduced in the 2011 budget to replace the income levy and the health levy. It was a necessary measure to widen the tax base, remove poverty traps and maintain revenue to reduce the budget deficit. It was a more sustainable charge than those it replaced. It is applied at low rates on a wide base. The USC, like the income levy before it, does not...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: First, it would be very expensive, and then there are technical considerations that would make it hard to do. There would be crossovers through other pensioners whose pensions were from other sources. For all those reasons, I am not prepared to do it.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: We do not have an estimate but there is general recognition that it would be quite expensive.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: I move amendment No. 2:In page 8, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:"(2) Subsection (1)applies for the year of assessment 2016 and each subsequent year of assessment.". These three amendments are being discussed together because they all relate to a similar technical amendment which is to be made for the purposes of clarity, and to ensure that the provisions operate as...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Department of Social Protection, as is usual, conducted a social impact assessment of the welfare and income tax measures in budget 2016, with input from the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The main findings are that average household incomes will increase by 1.6% or €14 per week as a result of budget 2016; there are higher than average...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Tóibín's argument only has validity if one believes in a society where everybody in the labour force gets paid the same. If everybody in the labour force gets paid the same, when tax reliefs are applied, everybody will get the same relief. If we believe in a labour force organised on the basis that people with additional responsibilities, in promotional posts or who work...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: Except in very general terms, there is not a crossover between the sympathetic way in which the Deputy outlined a particular case for an elderly person and the personal taxation measures in the budget. To return to the Deputy's original point, if we believe in a society where people get paid for their smarts, longer hours worked and the responsibilities taken on, as the Deputy suggests, to...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: No Minister for Finance goes into a budget without knowing he or she has a number of policy levers. To pass the equality test, all the policy levers with an influence must be pulled. It would not be possible to deliver very significant relief to people on low income but it is possible to do so when the minimum wage is increased, exempting those people from USC or reducing the rate. In that...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Tóibín had to agree with me.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Boyd Barrett has made many points. I will try to address at least some of them. First, Deputy Boyd Barrett suggested that there are people who are doing rather well, are getting well-paid, can pay their way and need no tax relief. That is true, but that was not the way it was in 2011 when we came to power. At the time, many middle-income people could not pay their way. They could...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2015: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Boyd Barrett is referring to the people above the line. We will see. If he exempted the house, they could well afford to pay the wealth tax.