Results 22,801-22,820 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: We will assist the credit unions in any way we can, as will the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. However, as the holders of the money, the credit unions must take the lead role, although we will certainly assist them in that regard.

Other Questions: NAMA Portfolio (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, the National Asset Management Agency does not own or sell properties.  NAMA acquired loans and the properties that secure these loans are owned by the agency's debtors.  NAMA's legal relationship with these debtors is much the same as a bank's relationship with its mortgage holders where the bank holds a claim against the house as security for...

Other Questions: NAMA Portfolio (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: The difficulty is that if an investment fund buys an apartment block, for example, it is buying an apartment block which is almost fully tenanted because the value lies in the fact the tenants are paying rent. If they were to help in resolving the housing crisis, they would need to be buying vacant properties. They do not look for vacant possession because of, as we can see, the adverse...

Other Questions: NAMA Portfolio (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I did not accuse Deputy Michael McGrath of scaremongering but he may have mentioned that I was scaremongering.

Other Questions: NAMA Portfolio (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I think Deputy Mattie McGrath has reversed the dialogue. I have great respect for Deputy Michael McGrath and did not do that. This is the first week the new Government is functioning. A special housing committee, chaired by Deputy John Curran, was set up in response to the emergency. I appeared before the committee and it seems to be that it is doing constructive work and moving...

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Afair, efficient and competitive income tax system is essential for economic growth and job creation. I have long said that the burden of the income tax system in Ireland is too high, that it is acting as a disincentive for work and investment in Ireland and that I would seek to reduce it as soon as it was prudent to do so. In the programme for a partnership Government, there is a...

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Doherty and I will have to agree to differ on this. It is not the first time we have debated it. It was debated last year and was debated right through the general election. Deputy Michael McGrath's and the Fianna Fáil position is not too far away from the Fine Gael position. He pitched middle income people as earning less that €80,000 and Fine Gael defined it as less...

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Sinn Féin is the most conservative party in the House.

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Sinn Féin is not a left-wing party at all. It is a conservative nationalist party.

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I will not be provoked and will resist the temptation. The best thing I can commit to is ensuring there is a full debate. The Spring Economic Statement will become a summer statement and it should be ready by June. There will be a full debate in the House. I am providing all the text papers to the finance committee so that there will be a full debate on taxation at that point, in advance...

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: The fallacy in the Deputy's argument is in the fact that the Government is not committing to reduce the tax take - it is committing to reduce tax rates. We will collect more taxes and the projections for taxes for the next years show that each year the tax take will increase. Within the envelope of additional taxes it is quite affordable to remove an emergency tax-----

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: We can afford to remove a tax introduced at a time of great emergency. Anybody carrying out an economic analysis will agree that personal tax rates in Ireland are too high and are having an adverse effect on economic growth and activity.

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: The economy is buoyant and we have very strong growth rates.

Other Questions: Tax Code (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: The projected tax take is increasing. For the past two years we have reduced the incidence of USC and that has relieved the burden, especially on low-paid and middle income people.

Other Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Combatting cross-Border smuggling is a high priority for Revenue. Mineral oil and tobacco smuggling are crimes that require both national and international responses. I am advised by Revenue that it works closely with law enforcement partners both at home and abroad to disrupt and deter smuggling activities. Revenue co-operates extensively with, inter alia, An Garda Síochána in...

Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I am not pressing the amendment.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Avoidance (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: A significant volume of information has recently come into the public domain relating to Panama. As is the case when any such information comes to their attention, it is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners to examine this information. It would be a matter for the Revenue Commissioners to decide whether Irish tax has been avoided and, if so, whether the arrangements should be...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Programme for Government Initiatives (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Officials in my Department are currently reviewing the content of the Programme for Government and, in this case, the matter of the establishment of a rainy day fund. This commitment forms part of the stated aim of this and the previous Government to maintain sound public finances. In considering this commitment, my officials are examining the necessary key features of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Programme for Government Initiatives (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: Officials in my Department are currently reviewing the content of the Programme for Government and, in this case, the matter of the establishment of a rainy day fund. This commitment forms part of the stated aim of this and the previous Government to maintain sound public finances. In considering the quantum of the rainy day fund, my officials are taking account of how the fund...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Assets Sale (18 May 2016)

Michael Noonan: I would clarify, for the Deputy, that my statement at the Housing and Homelessness Committee, was stating the fact that such sales, regardless of the ultimate purchaser, are conducted on the open market, thus allowing all interested parties to bid. It should also be noted that it is a decision for NAMA, in line with its independent statutory commercial mandate, to...