Results 21,961-21,980 of 33,049 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 95 together. Over the course of the year, the Government has responded to the pandemic by putting in place measures to address its impact on people, on firms and on sectors. Amongst the largest measures are the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. These measures will continue to apply if the country moves to a higher...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Schemes (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: When a consumer takes out a loan from a regulated lender it is subject to all relevant Irish and EU consumer protections. Most loan agreements include a clause that allows the loan to be sold to another firm. When a loan is sold, the relevant Irish and EU consumer protections continue to apply. All mortgages or loans which are sold or assigned to a new creditor will continue to be subject...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Motor Insurance (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset, while I have an appreciation of the specific issue the Deputy raises, neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can direct the pricing of insurance products, as this is a commercial matter, nor can we compel any insurer operating in the Irish market to provide cover. This position is reinforced by the EU Single Market framework for insurance (the Solvency II Directive) which...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Wage Subsidy Scheme (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) ceased on 31 August 2020 and was replaced by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) from 1 September 2020. When operational, the TWSS supported more than 66,000 employers in respect of approximately 664,000 employees at a cost of almost €2.9 billion to the Exchequer. The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid 19) Act assigned...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The restart grant and restart grant plus are a contribution towards the cost of re-opening or keeping a business operational and re-connecting with employees and customers. I am advised by Revenue that in the case of a sole trader who is within the charge to income tax, such a grant would be taken into account in computing amounts chargeable to income tax. The tax treatment of the grant...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 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, in respect of 2020 and 2021. The tax credit is worth a maximum of €125, or €250 for a jointly assessed couple. As the Deputy will be aware, the Stay and Spend scheme is just one...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The design of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) reflects the changing environment around the COVID-19 pandemic which has shifted from crisis mode to one of living alongside the virus, in line with the recently announced Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19. The Government’s focus has therefore shifted from an employee income support paid via...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Value Added Tax (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: As per my response on 6 October 2020 I am advised by Revenue that under the terms of the Diesel Rebate Scheme (DRS), qualifying road transport operators submit their claims, via an online system, during the three months following when the transaction took place. Once the claims are received by Revenue, they are normally processed and paid within eight weeks following completion of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Charges (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: All credit institutions in Ireland are independent commercial entities and the imposition of bank fees and charges are decisions to be made by the boards and management of individual banks which need to be run on an independent and commercial basis. You will be aware that, as Minister for Finance, I have no statutory role in relation to the charges applied by credit institutions. Under...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The 2020 Programme for Government: Our Shared Futurecontains several commitments related to working from home, including an examination of the “feasibility and merits of changing tax arrangements to encourage more people to work remotely”, the responsibility for which falls to my Department. There is also a commitment to the development of a ”national remote working...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Value Added Tax (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, it is a longstanding practice of the Minister for Finance not to comment, in advance of the Budget, on any tax matters that might be the subject of Budget decisions.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Wage Subsidy Scheme (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 108 and 109 together. The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) ceased on 31 August 2020 and was replaced by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) from 1 September 2020. When operational, the TWSS supported more than 66,000 employers in respect of approximately 664,000 employees at a cost of €2.9 billion to the Exchequer. The TWSS was...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: With regard to actual housing completions this year, I am conscious that there is likely to be a significant shortfall in 2020 as compared with the targets which were envisaged in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. It is important therefore that we continue to focus on the delivery of additional housing supply. The enhancement to the Help-to-Buy (HTB) Scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Forms (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, Revenue has extended the deadline for customers to file their 2019 self-assessed income tax return and make the appropriate payment in respect of preliminary tax for 2020 and any income tax balance due for 2019. The due date has been extended by four weeks from 12 November 2020 to 10 December 2020. To qualify for the extension, customers must both pay and file...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Charitable and Voluntary Organisations (13 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 848A of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 provides that where an individual makes a charitable donation, the approved charitable body receiving it can claim a refund of income tax paid on that donation at a blended 'grossed-up' rate of 31%. The requirements of the scheme include: - A minimum donation of €250 per annum must be made; - The donor or anyone connected with the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Schemes (14 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Officials from my Department have considered the introduction of a car-scrappage scheme to promote the uptake of electric vehicles, and it is the Department’s view that a VRT based car scrappage scheme is unlikely to work well. The Department set out analysis on this proposal in the Climate Action and Taxes Tax Strategy Paper. This can be accessed at this link: . There are currently no...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Living City Initiative (14 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 118 together. I am advised by Revenue that the available information in respect of the Living City Initiative is the number of claimants (rather than number of properties) and the tax forgone. Year Amount Claimed €m Number of Claimants 2018 0.5 27 2017 0.4 ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (14 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The design of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) reflects the changing environment around the COVID-19 pandemic which has shifted from crisis mode to one of living alongside the virus, in line with the recently announced Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19. The Government’s focus has therefore shifted from an employee income support paid via...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (14 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised that, in general, you cannot open a standard current account until you are aged 18. However, each financial institution has different procedures for opening an account. Some providers require that a parent or guardian sign the account opening form if the applicant is under 16 years of age. Other providers only require parental permission if the applicant is under 13 years of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (14 Oct 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to advise the Deputy that there are no age restrictions for any of the Covid-19 related schemes that are under the remit of my Department. Subject to the other relevant qualifying criteria being met, there is no restriction on persons who are under 18 and over 65 in the application of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), or the loss...