Results 7,401-7,420 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Pensions Reserve Fund Investments (12 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: On the 22 December 2014, the National Pensions Reserve Fund transitioned to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) which has a statutory mandate to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. The ISIF currently operates a Responsible Investment policy and is a committed signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, which focus...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Investments (12 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: On the 22 December 2014, the National Pensions Reserve Fund transitioned to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) which has a statutory mandate to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland.   The ISIF currently operates a Responsible Investment policy and is a committed signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, which...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Portfolio (12 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: As previously advised, as Minister for Finance I am happy to respond to questions on general policy matters relating to NAMA. However it would not be appropriate for me to comment on individual assets that secure NAMA's loans or on commercial arrangements between private parties. On the more general point, the Deputy will note that NAMA does not own or manage commercial properties. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (12 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy will be aware, I outlined last week in the Spring Economic Statement that the mortgage interest rates being charged by the Banks in Ireland have not been reduced in line with the rate reduction by the ECB.  I discussed the issue of mortgage interest rates with the Governor of the Central Bank on 2 April. As a result of this meeting the Governor is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Schemes (12 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: Issues relating to affordable housing and State supported affordable mortgages are, in the first instance, a matter for the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. In terms of the commercial mortgage lending market, these lending institutions are independent commercial entities and the Deputy will appreciate that it is a matter for such financial institutions to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Issues (12 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy will be aware that issues relating to the rental market and tenancy rights are for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government, Alan Kelly, TD.  I am informed by the Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government (DECLG), that in circumstances where a receiver is appointed to a landlord's interest in a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Parliamentary Questions (12 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: When the Deputy submitted the question in March 2012, it was originally for answer on Tuesday 3rd April 2012. Please note that this question was submitted prior to the electronic parliamentary question system coming into place. When the question was received by my officials, it was recorded in electronic format for answer on Tuesday 3rd April 2012. When Dáil...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Living City Initiative (12 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Living City Initiative, which was enacted in the Finance Act 2013, has been extended beyond the original pilot cities of Limerick and Waterford, to include the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Kilkenny as well. In line with my Department's commitment to evidence based policy-making, the inclusion of these additional four cities was as a result of...

Other Questions: Living City Initiative (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: Schemes along these lines must be cleared in Brussels at Commission level. When the initial proposal was put to the authorities in Brussels, certain difficulties emerged, so there was a rethink and the scheme was extended to the six main cities. The local authorities were charged with designating the areas they considered suitable. An independent outside consultant was retained to give...

Other Questions: Living City Initiative (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The major difference is that it extends between the two cities originally involved in the pilot studies. In general terms, there was consultation between the Department of Finance, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the local authorities. The tendency of the local authorities is to designate the biggest area possible, but of course that does not always...

Other Questions: Living City Initiative (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: I will see. It may be published already. I am not sure what the position is. There is nothing secret about it. We will publish what we can publish.

Other Questions: Tax Code (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy may be aware that section 396C of the NAMA Act 2009 was a provision which limited the amount of trading losses incurred by a NAMA-participating bank that could be set off against future trading profits. The offset was limited to 50% of the profit of the year. It did not disallow any tax losses from being utilised but instead lengthened the period over which...

Other Questions: Tax Code (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: A factor in the decision to remove section 396C was that it improved the capital ratios under the new capital standards that were being introduced at the time under CRD IV. The rules under CRD IV, which came into effect on 1 January 2014 on a ten-year phased basis, meant that deferred tax assets in respect of trading losses would no longer be considered as tier 1 capital. The repeal of...

Other Questions: Economic Policy (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The spring economic statement, SES, outlines Ireland's medium-term economic and fiscal plan. It demonstrates that our public finances are under control, the economy is growing and continued improvement is forecast in the coming years. In this regard, the SES outlined that fiscal space of the order of €1.2 to €1.5 billion will be available for budget 2016, while still complying...

Other Questions: Economic Policy (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy raises a number of questions. First, she talked about how we were continuing to cut public expenditure. We are not. In the last budget, the Government increased public expenditure. The spring statement states that we will continue to increase public expenditure between now and 2020. We have spelled it out in precise terms for 2016. The Minister for Public Expenditure and...

Other Questions: Economic Policy (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The statistical tables accompanying the spring statement are quite complex and I need guidance through them myself. However, it is not true to say that they indicate a reduction in expenditure. From 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020-----

Other Questions: Economic Policy (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The tables for 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 are carried forward on the basis of no policy change. That is where one gets the reduction. If there are no policy changes, there will be reductions, but there will be policy changes. The Government has committed to making policy changes and to using the fiscal space that has been identified for each year for extra expenditure to enhance the public...

Other Questions: Living City Initiative (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: The living city initiative was commenced and launched on 5 May 2015. It is an urban regeneration incentive which focuses on the regeneration of the historic centres of six cities. This initiative is a scheme of property tax reliefs which applies in certain "special regeneration areas" in the centres of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny, particularly those areas which...

Other Questions: NAMA Bonds (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: On the write-downs between the nominal value of the loans of around €74 billion and the €31 billion to which the Deputy referred, those losses were taken by the creditors who had borrowed from the banks. The losses are not to the taxpayer but to the individual creditors who effectively went broke. There are several examples of this, the most prominent of which are in the...

Other Questions: Tax Yield (7 May 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that information on receipts by tax head is available on the Revenue Commissioners' statistics website at , under "Revenue Net Receipts by Taxhead on an annual basis" to 2014. As shown on the website, local property tax net receipts were €316 million in 2013 and €493 million in 2014. The Revenue Commissioners has also confirmed that...