Results 27,641-27,660 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Customs and Excise (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: It is just as well I did not take the advice or we would have seen an 8 cent per litre increase last month----------

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Customs and Excise (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: Sinn Féin advocated for an 8 cent increase in petrol last month. It is just as well I did not take the Deputy's advice.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for the question. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which is a business unit of the NTMA, is statutorily independent and is subject to oversight by its investment committee and the NTMA's board. My officials are in contact with the NTMA on an ongoing basis across a range of issues, including those arising from the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023. On...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: Perhaps I could write to the Deputy with detail of the investments that have been divested. The majority of what was announced has been completed at this stage. She will acknowledge that difficult and harrowing as the issue is with the occupied West Bank and the conflict and the terrible events happening in Gaza because of the excessive use of force by the Israel Defense Forces, it is not...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The factual position is that ISIF is statutorily independent and subject to oversight by its investment committee and the NTMA's board. Under statute, I, as Minister for Finance, do not have a role in ISIF's implementation of its investment strategy. The investment strategy does operate within an ESG framework, which the Deputy has correctly highlighted. This is not the only ESG issue it...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for the question. SMEs are the lifeblood of the Irish economy and they account for 99.8% of all businesses in Ireland, along with 69.2% of all employment in the business economy. Recognising the importance of SMEs to Ireland, my Department has regularly carried out SME credit demand surveys since 2011. These surveys are critical tools to understand how the sector...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy O'Sullivan. Overall the credit demand survey for 2023 paints a complex picture. It is multifaceted because, of course, SMEs operate in a range of sectors. Overall the results of the survey once again underline the resilience in the face of economic challenges. There is a steady demand for credit. It also highlights evolving investment patterns, one of which Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy's question is about interest rates facing SMEs. The changes in the interest rates being paid by SMEs were directly linked to the monetary policy environment, the ten successive interest rate increases we had from the ECB which worked their way through the system, in particular in respect of floating rate charges, variable rate loan products and then when it came to the re-pricing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Economic Data (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 237 together. The economic performance across the EU and Ireland was somewhat subdued last year amid weak global trade and GDP growth. In 2023, GDP grew by a modest 0.4% in the euro area and EU, while Irish GDP recorded a contraction of 3.2%. GDP growth in the euro area and Ireland is projected to pick up this year, though remaining below...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Economic Data (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: We monitor inflation at the headline level but also the components of inflation quite closely, as would be expected. Every time a publication is issued by the Central Statistics Office and Eurostat, it is examined by officials in my Department, who report to me, give me a summary of them and their interpretation of the underlying trends. Of course, there is a difference between the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Economic Data (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The truth is that GDP is measured in Ireland in exactly the same way as in every other European country, but because we have a very large multinational sector, we believe it is important to have other measures of the economy as well. This is why we have MDD and GNI* and we publish all this information regularly. The agreed international measure of economic performance, though, whether that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Inflation Rate (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 70, 90 and 238 together. Inflation reached multidecade highs in 2022, averaging 8.1%, with a peak of 9.6% in June 2022, as measured using the harmonised method of the harmonised index of consumer prices, HICP. While the initial driver of this inflationary pressure was a surge in global energy prices, it subsequently became increasingly broad-based as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Inflation Rate (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The dynamics of energy prices have been key in driving the headline inflation rate over recent years. The initial driver of inflation was a surge in energy prices that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This substantially disrupted the supply of energy, in particular of natural gas, of which Russia was a large exporter to Europe. Wholesale gas prices peaked at £4 per therm in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Inflation Rate (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputies. We are at a point in the budgetary cycle where we have published the stability programme update. We will have the national economic dialogue next month and then we will have the summer economic statement and will consider all of the issues that the Deputies have raised in deciding on the budgetary parameters. Then, more particularly when deciding on the individual...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Banking Sector (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: In short, the answer is "yes, Deputy". The access to cash legislation is at a very advanced stage of preparation. We need to consult the European Central Bank because some of the matters in the Bill are relevant to the functions of the ECB but I expect we will be sending a copy of the Bill to it in the next number of weeks. In essence the Bill will provide for the registration and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Residential Zoned Land Tax or RZLT was introduced in Finance Act 2021 and seeks to increase housing supply by encouraging the activation of development on lands which are suitably zoned and appropriately serviced. RZLT, which is an action under Housing for All, aims to bring those lands which have benefitted from investment in services and are capable of being developed forward for...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Help to Buy scheme is administered by Revenue to assist first-time buyers with buying or building a new house or apartment. The scheme gives a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to qualifying criteria outlined in the legislation. In the July 2020 stimulus plan, the scheme was amended so that the level...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consumer Protection (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: There is generally a condition in insurance policies that, under the terms of the contract, an insurer may assume control and deal with the settlement of any claim. This is the contractual position, and there is generally no requirement that an insurer seek a policyholder’s approval before settling a third-party claim. As the Deputy will be aware, the duties of insurers with...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Rebates (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy is aware questions around the application of the flat-rate farmers refund order have been raised on a number of occasion particularly over how VAT refund claims are being administered and processed by the Revenue Commissioners. The refund order was originally introduced in 1972 and has seen minor amendments to the type of expenditure covered. In 1993, the order was updated...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (21 May 2024)

Michael McGrath: Increasing the supply of new homes is key priority for the Government. In 2023, 32,600 new homes were built, 10 per cent higher than the previous year and the highest level since the series began in 2011. During the first quarter of this year, there were 5,840 new home completions, the second highest level since records began in 2011. In the 12 months to end-March 2024, there were 31,800...