Results 6,441-6,460 of 32,602 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Reviews (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. I do not see any reason as to why the good cheer would evaporate and it certainly will not for me-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Reviews (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I want to return the festive wishes to the Deputy. The short answer to her question is that I just finished the Finance Bill last night in the Dáil, including with her good self. We have just completed the Finance Bill for this year. The review will be completed well in advance of next year's finance Bill. As of yet, I have not set the terms of reference, initiated the process as to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Reviews (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The scheme is helping many to get on the properly ladder and it is helping many who need support when they are buying their first home. More than 29,000 first-home purchasers have benefited from the scheme since it was set up. On the reviews that we have had, while the Deputy is correct that the most recent independent cost-benefit analysis of this was in 2018, this process is subject to a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Reviews (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: On the additional points that the Deputy has made, 11% of the purchases that were made of homes in our country over the past 12 months or so were covered by the help-to-buy scheme. I do not accept that a scheme that supports the purchase of approximately one in ten homes is itself the cause of the significant house price inflation that we are facing. The cause of where we are at the moment...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 91 together. The objective of the wage subsidy scheme is to support employment and maintain the link between the employer and the employee insofar as is possible. The EWSS has been a key component of the Government's response to the Covid-19 crisis. It is an economy-wide scheme that operates across all sectors. In monetary terms, the overall...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The answer to the Deputy's first question is "Yes". In order for a company to participate in this scheme from next year, it must be participating in the scheme for the month of December. I am aware of concerns that have been raised by a number of hotels that have a very high seasonal dimension to their business. For a hotel or any business to be excluded from the scheme at the moment,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The overwhelming majority of companies that have participated in the EWSS went into it because they genuinely believed they would need it at that point. They did so based on the effect of the pandemic on their business. The near overwhelming experience both Revenue and I have had is that of employers participating in the scheme in good faith. It is the case that a number of companies that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that he has raised this with me on a number of occasions. I appreciate that a number of businesses we value and that provide very valuable employment to our country find themselves in a position that they are slightly outside the entry threshold of a 30% decline in their business. This figure of 70% has now been consistently in place...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I want to begin by apologising to the Acting Chairman and the Deputies for the fact that I will need to leave early because I have an engagement at the European Council this evening. I have already conveyed apologies to Deputy Pearse Doherty and Mairéad Farrell, and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, who will take over from me in a few moments. I will quickly answer the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The commitment to a vacant property tax is clear in Housing for All. The 2018 Indecon report reflected the housing market as it stood then but we are now in a situation where we need to make even more urgent use of properties and land available for housing and accommodation purposes. That is why the Housing for All strategy contains a different commitment to the introduction of a vacant...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I completely reject any claims that the information and guidance my officials prepare for me is in any way massaged or in any way excludes important information that I need to make decisions. I receive full, impartial and comprehensive input and advice from my officials on this and every other matter. The information notes I receive and the evaluations that are given to me are part of how...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government's strategy, ‘Housing For All’ states that my Department will collect data on vacancy with a view to introducing a Vacant Property Tax. The Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2021 has accordingly enabled Revenue to collect certain information on vacant properties in the LPT return forms submitted by residential property owners last month in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103, 150 and 152 together. Insurance reform is a key priority for this Government as evidenced by the fact that implementation of the Action Plan is overseen by the Cabinet Sub-Group on insurance reform, chaired by the Tánaiste. A significant landmark of the ongoing reforms is the establishment of the Office to Promote Competition in the Insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consumer Prices (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104 and 107 together. The Government is very conscious of the recent spike in consumer price inflation, which reached 5.4 per cent in November. This, of course, is not unique to Ireland, with the majority of advanced economies recording relatively high rates of price inflation in recent months. That said, it is worth pointing out that this comes after...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2021 provided for a revaluation of properties to form the basis of the Local Property Tax (LPT) charge from 2022. LPT for the years 2022 to 2025 will be based on property values on 1 November 2021. It is important to note that LPT is a self-assessment tax and it is the responsibility of each owner to value his or her property. While Revenue...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. The VAT Directive obliges each Member State to have a standard rate of VAT and also allows that a Member State may choose to have no more than two reduced rates of VAT, which may be no less than 5%, and which may be applied to certain goods and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The 2009 Commission on Taxation reviewed the One-Parent Family Tax Credit. It acknowledged that the credit played a role in supporting and incentivising the labour market participation of single and widowed parents but recommended that the credit should be allocated to the principal carer of the child only. The One-Parent Family Tax Credit was replaced by the Single Person Child Carer...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Personal Injury Claims (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The implementation of the new Personal Injuries Guidelines is a significant milestone in the insurance reform agenda, which should lead to reduced claims costs for insurers. The Government is committed to holding insurers to account and ensuring that consumers experience the benefits from the range of measures being implemented under the Action Plan for Insurance Reform. As the Deputy will...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: All credit institutions in Ireland are independent commercial entities and decisions in relation to the provision of bank statements are made by the boards and management of individual banks. I am advised by the Central Bank that Chapter 6 of the Consumer Protection Code 2012 ‘Post-sale Information Requirements’ sets out the requirements that regulated entities must follow...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 142 together. The Deputy will be aware, in accordance with section 101 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2011, the Revenue Commissioners are independent in the performance of their functions under, or for the purposes of, the laws governing taxation. Furthermore, all taxpayers have rights of appeal under tax law against assessments...