Results 26,001-26,020 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, non-performing loans remain at an elevated level across the European banking system and addressing this issue is one of the key priorities for the Single Supervisory Mechanism, SSM. In Ireland, significant progress has been made across the banking sector in reducing the level of non-performing loans since the financial crisis. Despite this progress, the level of such...

Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy is incorrect in his assertion that the Consumer Protection Act is ineffective. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2015, relevant borrowers whose loans are sold to third parties maintain the same regulatory protections they had prior to the sale, including under the various statutory codes, such as the consumer protection code and the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, issued by...

Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: The strength of Deputy Doherty's advocacy and the fact that he puts information that is incorrect on the record does not make his arguments correct. I have always said that I have certain responsibilities for NAMA. I have those responsibilities for NAMA which are enshrined in the NAMA Act as enacted by the Houses of the Oireachtas. That legislation provides a role for the Minister for...

Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: I know. I think the Deputy should declare an interest rather than act here as a neutral observer commenting for the public good. Let us be fair. The Deputy is a great man to make assertions under privilege.

Other Questions: State Banking Sector Regulation (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy is a great man to make assertions under privilege but it is true that he has an interest and he should declare that interest and then we would all know where we stand.

Other Questions: Property Tax Exemptions (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: The local property tax, LPT, exemption is intended to apply to those properties that have a significant level of pyrite damage. While this means that not all properties that are affected by pyrite are eligible for the exemption, it is accepted that the presence of pyrite, whether it has already caused structural damage to a property or has the potential to cause such damage, will have a...

Other Questions: Property Tax Exemptions (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: I said that I was not prepared to introduce further legislation to change the current legislative parameters but I think progress can be made administratively. As I said in my reply to Deputy Daly, if a property owner believes that the valuation band selected on the valuation date of 1 May 2013 did not take account of the existence of pyrite then he or she should make contact with Revenue to...

Other Questions: Property Tax Exemptions (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: I understand the point the Deputy makes. If there is an administrative road block preventing what I expect to occur from occurring I will speak to the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners with a view to having it remediated at an administrative level.

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for his question. Until it formally withdraws from the European Union, the United Kingdom will remain a full EU member with all its existing rights and obligations, including in regard to the EU budget. Brexit will involve complex discussions on the multi-annual financial framework, particularly as the United Kingdom is an important net contributor to the EU budget....

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: Our contribution to the EU budget is calculated on our GDP, as calculated by EUROSTAT. The modifications suggested by the committee under the Governor of the Central Bank to have a more transparent domestic set of numbers which would not have built in the impact of the on-shoring of IT, which ran into the GDP figures, would not be taken into account for calculations on the EU budget. The...

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: There are estimates generated in Brussels that would be at the higher end of the range. These are rejected and refuted by the UK authorities. Where it will land, I could not even guess at this stage. On the new methodology, as advised by the committee on Irish statistics, the intention is not to change the statistical base for our international calculations, as with the EU budget. The...

Other Questions: Employment Rights (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: When the Deputy was Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, she and I, as Minister for Finance, launched a consultation process on the use of intermediary-type employment structures and self-employment arrangements, in addition to their impact on tax and PRSI. She will recall also that the consultation invited submissions from interested parties on possible measures to address the...

Other Questions: Employment Rights (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: I do not want to confuse the issue of the tax and PRSI position of people who are genuinely self-employed. This matter relates to people who are not genuinely self-employed and are using the device for tax reduction purposes. The use of intermediary-type structures is becoming more prevalent as a means of providing labour, and legitimately so. From a tax and PRSI perspective, one of the...

Other Questions: Employment Rights (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: I acknowledge that Deputy Burton, as the former Tánaiste, was the joint sponsor of this consultation process. It is a good piece of work and I look forward to the report being available and debating it in the House. The construction and development industry, where these practices are prevalent, crashed during the recession and is emerging as a different industry, with contractors and...

Other Questions: Mortgage Interest Relief Application (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 45 and 81 together. Section 244 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides MIR in respect of qualifying interest paid in a tax year. The level of relief allowable in any tax year in respect of the amount of interest paid, inclusive of any arrears paid, cannot exceed the applicable rates and ceilings for that year. The applicable rate and ceiling for...

Other Questions: Mortgage Interest Relief Application (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: First, the mortgage interest relief only applies to interest which is paid. If somebody has an impaired mortgage and he or she is no longer paying interest he or she will not get interest relief, but one can get it back in subsequent years. The best thing to do would be for the Deputy or his constituent to ring the number I gave and to set out the case for the Revenue Commissioners because...

Other Questions: Mortgage Interest Relief Application (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: I suggest again that the Deputy ring Revenue to straighten out the interest relief the person is entitled to receive and if he wants to pursue the matter further in terms of a complaint, it is to Central Bank that the complaint should be addressed in the first instance.

Other Questions: State Banking Sector (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: The position of the Government in regard to the State's shareholdings in the banking sector is very clear. These were investments the State had to make during the banking crisis, and it is the Government's intention that the State will exit these investments in a measured and careful manner. I have been clear in stating that my primary objective in the disposal of these assets will be...

Other Questions: State Banking Sector (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: The position of the Government in regard to the State's shareholdings in the banking sector is very clear. These were investments the State had to make during the banking crisis, and it is the Government's intention that the State will exit these investments in a measured and careful manner. I have been clear in stating that my primary objective in the disposal of these assets will be...

Other Questions: State Banking Sector (28 Feb 2017)

Michael Noonan: First, the Deputy uses such terms as "give away" and "fire sale" very loosely. Like any asset, whether it is a bank, a house or a bicycle, it is only worth what a willing buyer is willing to give to a willing seller on any given day. When AIB was taken over by the State it was taken over because there were no willing purchasers. One would not have got €100 for it. It does not make...