Results 10,781-10,800 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Irregularities (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the research carried out by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) and Safeguarding Ireland on financial abuse and vulnerable persons. I understand that BPFI along with its member banks and with support from Safeguarding Ireland have developed a guide which provides advice on how you can best prepare for a time when you may need assistance to properly manage your...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) commenced on 26 March 2020 as an emergency measure to provide income support to eligible employees where the employer’s business activities were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme operated until 31 August 2020 and was replaced by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) from 1 September 2020. Payments made under the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Home Renovation Incentive Scheme (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) was introduced by Section 477B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 in 2014 and was terminated in accordance with its statutory sunset clause on 31 December 2018 having been extended twice before that and having been seen to have met its original objective viz. support for job creation in the construction sector in the wake of the financial crisis. The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Living City Initiative (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Living City Initiative (LCI) (provided for in Finance Act 2013 and commenced on 5 May 2015) is a tax incentive aimed at the regeneration of the historic inner cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford. The scheme provides income or corporation tax relief for qualifying expenditure incurred in refurbishing/converting qualifying buildings which are located within...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Stay and Spend scheme provides tax relief by means of a tax credit at the rate of 20% on qualifying expenditure of up to €625 per person, or €1,250 for a jointly assessed couple. The tax credit is worth a maximum of €125, or €250 for a jointly assessed couple. The purpose of the scheme is to provide targeted support to businesses within the hospitality sector...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Asset Management Agency (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to advise the Deputy that Section 9 of the NAMA Act provides that NAMA is independent in the performance of its functions and that I, as Minister, have no role in relation to its commercial operations or decisions. Nor am I a party to commercial transactions in which NAMA is engaged. I am advised by NAMA that, in relation to the asset concerned, a commercial process remains...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The payment break scheme coordinated by the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) and introduced by its Members last March was a welcome initiative that allowed important and necessary cash flow relief to be quickly and efficiently provided to borrowers affected by Covid-19, including SMEs. As the Deputy is aware, the original 3 month payment break was extended by another 3 months...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Contracts (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The following tabled procurements were undertaken without competitive procurement in 2019 and to date in 2020: Year Company Name Contract / Agreement Details Contract Value 2019 Lilley Ventures t/a Workproducts Inc. Matterspace Software Tool Licence renewal. 12 months unlimited software usage and maintenance....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 435 and 437 together. I am advised by Revenue that the Small Benefit Exemption allows an employer to provide one tax free “qualifying incentive” per year to an employee, provided a number of conditions are satisfied. Where all of the below conditions are satisfied no tax liability will arise: - The qualifying incentive must be in the form of a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Meetings (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: On Wednesday 21 October, I met with representatives of Ulster Bank. I outlined that I expected that staff, customers and other stakeholders would be informed promptly about any decisions being made. In particular, I asked that staff representatives be consulted and kept informed of developments. I also emphasised the importance of Ulster Bank to the Irish financial services market, to the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: It is assumed that the Deputy is referring to the date for filing 2019 self-employed income tax returns (Form 11). The statutory date for filing the 2019 Form 11 return, paying any outstanding balance for that year and paying preliminary tax for 2020 is 31 October 2020. This date was initially extended by Revenue to 12 November 2020 for taxpayers who both file and pay using the Revenue...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Lending (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I have met with the CEOs of the banks on a number of occasions since the pandemic arose to discuss the measures banks and other regulated lenders can put in place to assist their borrowers who are economically impacted by COVID-19 and also the need to continue to support overall credit and lending in the economy, including new residential mortgage lending. The purpose of the Employment...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: In 2009, the Commission for Taxation recommended the introduction of a tax on carbon emissions from fossil fuels released for consumption in Ireland in order to broaden the tax base and to protect and enhance the environment. Carbon Tax, as part of an overall suite of measures to incentivise decarbonisation, aims to encourage businesses and householders alike to use greener alternative fuels...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I note the comments made in the European Parliament recently by the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank. I will continue to engage with the retail banks in light of any further guidance issued by the EU regulatory authorities to ensure that Irish borrowers can benefit from any further initiatives at an EU level. In April the European Banking Authority (EBA)...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I would like to assure the Deputy that I continue to closely monitor the uptake and utilisation of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) and that both I and my officials are in frequent contact with our counterparts the Departments of Social Protection and Public Expenditure and Reform on this important economy-wide employment measure. I am aware of the views expressed in the letter,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Asset Management Agency (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by NAMA that they do not typically own or sell properties. Rather NAMA’s role is as secured lender and the properties securing NAMA’s loans remain under the control of their registered owners, or in the case of enforcement, the appointed receiver. The Deputy will be aware that I, as Minister for Finance, have no role in respect of NAMA's commercial operations or...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I have met with the CEOs of the banks on a number of occasions since the pandemic arose to discuss the measures banks and other regulated lenders can put in place to assist their borrowers who are economically impacted by COVID-19 and also the need to continue to support overall credit and lending in the economy, including new residential mortgage lending. The three main retail banks assured...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Data Protection (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: There were 8 data protection breaches identified in the Department of Finance in 2019. The Department has an internal personal data breach reporting protocol. All breaches must be formally notified to the Department’s Data Protection Officer for assessment. One of the breaches that occurred in 2019 was notified to the Office of the Data Protection Commission. Immediate follow-up...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 451 and 452 together. In terms of the current tax treatment of the costs associated with working from home, the position is that any such costs incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the business by an employer (for example, the provision of equipment) may be deducted by the employer in the normal course of calculating the tax liability of their...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Expenditure (3 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department did not have capital spending above €20 million for any year since 2016. I wish to inform the deputy that there are 17 bodies under the aegis of my Department; of those 17 Bodies, 16 have confirmed that they their capital spending was not over €20 million in each of the years since 2016. The Central Bank has confirmed the following capital spending: ...