Results 8,421-8,440 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Are these specific projects?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Is there a list of specific projects? The demand came quickly to submit projects; there were only a couple of weeks. We took everything across Departments and in agencies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Some projects were not ready to go, but at least there were proposals that were formulated and costed, to a degree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: We must prioritise now what we really want from that list for consideration. It will only be a fraction of what was put in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: One does not wish to typecast an entire population. There are many people trying extraordinarily hard to sort things out. It is a very difficult model. We must remember there was civil war in Greece until 1949. When our Civil War was over there was conflict between the combatants, but in Greece there were a lot of consequences for the losing side. People in the public service were forced...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Greek authorities have made it clear they do not want write-downs. That is clear from the exchanges across Europe.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: It was done in a hurry.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: The projects are publicly available on the Commission and the European Investment Bank websites. We have costings but did not publish them because of commercial sensitivity. We will be looking for tenders.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I do not know what costings they put up. They could have been indicative figures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Government has not made a decision to that effect. There are circumstances in which measures may be conceded to Greece or designed for Greece which would run to our disadvantage. For example, any indication that our debt is not sustainable could run against our best interests. This morning we were getting ten-year money on the secondary market at 1.20%, while the rate on Greek ten-year...

Topical Issue Debate: Tax Code (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I think everybody knows that the SME sector was under pressure as a result of the disastrous policies pursued by the Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government where the economy crashed. If GDP goes down by 20%, is it any surprise that the number of SMEs in the economy will go down as well and that there are closures? Some of the CSO figures to which the Deputy referred are historic and...

Topical Issue Debate: Tax Code (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter this afternoon. I recognise the key role that Irish small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, play in creating employment in our economy. SMEs account for almost two thirds of employment in the enterprise economy, and it is for that reason that I have introduced and extended a wide range of tax measures to encourage productive investment in SMEs...

Topical Issue Debate: Home Renovation Incentive Scheme Eligibility (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, I introduced the home renovation incentive, HRI, in budget 2014. This scheme came into operation on 25 October 2013 and will run until 31 December 2015. The incentive provides tax relief for homeowners by way of a tax credit at 13.5% of qualifying expenditure incurred on repair, renovation or improvement work carried out on a principal private residence. In the...

Topical Issue Debate: Home Renovation Incentive Scheme Eligibility (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: The home renovation scheme runs until the end of 2015. While I have no plans to renew it for a further year or two yet, we will review the position going into the budget, as we will do in all of these cases. In the course of this review I will take the Deputy's views into account.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Forms (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that in view of the passage of time since the employment concerned, Revenue is not in a position to readily confirm any of the relevant details. However, archive records will be examined and Revenue will be in direct contact with the person concerned with the outcome of that examination as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Illicit Trade in Tobacco (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they are very conscious of the threat that the illegal importation of cigarettes poses to the Exchequer and to legitimate business and they have adopted a comprehensive strategy to tackle the problem throughout the country, including Co Louth.  Intensified targeting, in co-operation with other law enforcement agencies on both sides...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Lending (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Central Bank of Ireland is the authority for the formulation of macro prudential regulations in respect of regulated financial service providers.  In that regard, the Central Bank has now announced the introduction of new regulations which will apply proportionate limits to mortgage lending by such institutions in the Irish market. The key objective of these regulations is to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Job Initiatives (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy will be aware that it is the Government's view that a fair, efficient and competitive income tax system is essential for economic growth and job creation. While it is the case that some self-employed people can pay more tax than a PAYE worker on similar incomes, it is important to understand that PAYE workers and the self-employed are taxed in different ways to reflect...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: European Central Bank (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: Inflation in the euro area has been below levels consistent with price stability for some time and, in fact, moved into negative territory in December and continued this downward trend in January. The fall in inflation combined with the fact that inflationary expectations have begun to drift downwards poses a risk to price stability. As a result, and with policy rates effectively at zero...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Vehicle Registration Data (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the total number of new vehicles registered for Vehicle Registration Tax by county during the month of January in the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 is shown in the table. January 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Registrations Carlow 307 345 269 396 465 Cavan 295 299 224 319 440 Clare 573 610 479 631 881 Cork 3,056 3,219 2,679 3,547...