Results 61-80 of 32,527 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Inquiries (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, Dr de Buitléir’s report of his examination of the Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) was published in September 2024 and made a number of recommendations across the SFT regime and the wider pension tax system. These include changes to: the level of the SFT and how it is set in the future; the rate of CET that is charged; how pensions are valued for the purpose...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Inquiries (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development takes place in Seville, Spain from 30 June to 3 July this year. The conference will seek to build international consensus on key areas, including domestic resources and taxes, debt architecture and sustainability, the reform of international financial architecture, international development cooperation, trade, private...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Collection (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Following clarification with the Deputy's office, I understand this question relates to the income tax age exemption threshold. As the Deputy will be aware, the current thresholds for the income tax age exemption are €18,000 per annum where an individual is aged 65 years or over, and €36,000 per annum for married couples and civil partners, jointly assessed to tax, where...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government has committed to further action to address the cost of insurance impacting households, motorists and businesses as part of the Programme for Government: Securing Ireland's Future. This includes a commitment to develop a new Action Plan for Insurance Reform with a focus on encouraging further competition in the market and working with stakeholders to enhance transparency and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Collection (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: For Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) purposes, the relationship between the disponer (i.e., the person who provides the gift or inheritance) and the beneficiary determines the maximum amount, known as the Group threshold, below which CAT does not arise. Any prior gift or inheritance received by a beneficiary since 5 December 1991 within the same Group threshold is aggregated for the purposes of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Exemptions (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: In general, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is chargeable on a gain arising on the disposal of an asset, including a residential property, at the rate of 33%. The first €1,270 of chargeable gains of an individual in any year are exempt from CGT. I understand that the Deputy has clarified the question by giving as an example the cost to the exchequer of an increase in the exemption from...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Schemes (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive, is a scheme to encourage additional supply of new houses by supporting demand. It assists first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. TB provides a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in Ireland over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in section 477C of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government (Securing Ireland's Future) sets out a range of commitments intended to make "Ireland’s buildings more sustainable and energy-efficient, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and lowering energy costs for households. By promoting retrofitting, renewable heating, and solar energy, we aim to make homes warmer, cheaper to heat,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Prior to 1 January 2023, where the combined contributions by an employer and an employee to the employee’s Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) did not exceed the employee’s annual percentage limit, as set out in section 787E(1) Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA), the contributions were relieved from tax. The employee’s annual percentage limit is between 15% and 40%...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Trade Data (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: In 2024, over €73 billion worth of goods were exported from Ireland to the US. Table 1 shows the breakdown of these exports by commodity group. Table 1: 2024 goods exports to the US (€billions), by sector Total goods exports 73.2 Pharmaceuticals and chemicals 58.3 Miscellaneous...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Eurozone Issues (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Deposit interest rates are a means for banks to attract or maintain a stable source of funding. The determination of the rate of interest to offer to attract depositors is a commercial decision, which is the sole responsibility of the board and management of each bank. Neither the Central Bank of Ireland nor I have a role in setting the interest rates offered by banks on monies held on...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The formulation and implementation of monetary policy is an independent matter for the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB increased official interest rates over the course of 2022 and 2023 as it moved to combat excess inflation. However, since last summer the ECB has reduced official interest rates on seven occasions, with the most recent reduction taking effect on 23 April. These...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Inquiries (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Like a number of other EU countries, Ireland has a high savings deposit rate and there is broad agreement that some of these savings could provide greater returns for individual citizens and the wider economy if they were invested as opposed to being on deposit. This is the central thrust of the EU Savings and Investments Union (SIU) project. It aims to help citizens to invest more so as to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Climate Action Plan (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: In line with the Programme for Government 2025: Securing Ireland’s Future, the Government is fully committed to the emissions reduction targets set by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act . The annual Climate Action Plans set out a pathway that seeks to deliver on this and to implement the adopted carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings, with the latest version of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Collection (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the table below provides the revenue collected in Meath in each of the past five years from local property tax. The data refers to collections for a given LPT year rather than a calendar year. The figure for 2024 is provisional. The finalised figure will be available in the Property Tax Statistics : Local Property Tax 2024 (Final Annual Results) in July of this...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Collection (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the amount of tax paid by dog breeding establishments is not separately identifiable from tax returns because the pan-European ‘NACE’ classification system (used by Revenue) does not uniquely identify such activities. Also, in some instances, dog breeding operations may be part of wider activities by taxpayers and not separately categorised in tax...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Data (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme Fuel Grant is under the remit of my Department. To qualify for this grant, a claimant must hold a valid Primary Medical Certificate (PMC). The fuel grant may be paid to an eligible person in respect of hydrocarbon oil used in a qualifying vehicle or qualifying vehicle (organisation), where the use of the hydrocarbon oil was related to the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Collection (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) is a beneficiary-based tax on gifts and inheritances that is payable on the value of the property received. For CAT purposes, the relationship between the person giving a gift or inheritance (i.e. the disponer) and the person who receives it (i.e. the beneficiary) determines the maximum amount, known as the “Group threshold”, below which CAT does...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pension Provisions (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: Pension contributions already benefit from significant tax benefits, which are designed to encourage long term savings. Ireland operates an Exempt, Exempt, Tax (EET) system. Contributions to pensions (within certain limits) are exempted from income tax, pension fund gains are exempted from income tax, and income from pension drawdown is taxed other than a tax free lump sum. This approach...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners (29 Apr 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that an increase in the Small Gift Exemption could not be costed as it is not possible to forecast the number of people who would avail of or benefit from the increased level of the exemption, and to what amount. Also the Deputy might wish to note that no return is required to claim the Small Gift Exemption for annual gifts up to €3,000.