Results 27,941-27,960 of 33,214 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Banking Sector (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree that while 24% is a big change versus where we were earlier in the year, there remains a great deal that needs to be done. Nevertheless, while that means 76% of the accounts are still open, that does not mean all those accounts are still active. More than 600,000 new accounts have been set up in the three remaining banks, which points to consumers responding back to getting their...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Banking Sector (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: There are indeed important issues we need to monitor and play a role in. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, has reminded me of the role our credit unions can play in also providing new services and accounts to people who are former customers of the two banks that are leaving. I am very much aware of the point the Deputy made about how not everybody is able to access services digitally...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flexible Work Practices (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103, 108 and 111 together. The programme for Government includes a commitment to facilitate and support remote working. As part of the national remote working strategy, in 2021, the tax strategy group reviewed the tax arrangements for remote working in respect of both employees and employers. That paper is now available on my Department’s website. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flexible Work Practices (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputies for the points they made. It is probably a little too early to know what the equilibrium will look like in terms of working from home. Even if we did not have the energy price change that is occurring and we were living in - to use that phrase we used for a long time - a "new normal", I still think it would be early to see what the new patterns will be regarding where...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flexible Work Practices (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy has concluded the discussion in an appropriate way because there has to be a balance. Public services still need to be provided, contact needs to be made available to citizens and consumers and employers still have to be viable and provide for and meet the needs of their customers. There is clearly a balance in how all this can be done. All the Deputies have acknowledged the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, I gave a commitment to the House that a comprehensive review of the scheme would be undertaken. I am working with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, on this and we both agree that the review should be brought within a wider review under the auspices of the national disability inclusion strategy. This work is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I take the points that have been raised by the Deputies. The working group has met on a number of occasions throughout the year and its next meeting is coming up in a number of weeks. I will play my role in trying to make progress on this issue because I accept that too many of our citizens are waiting for too long to know where they will be with the provision of valuable supports. We must...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: It is important to recognise that credit unions can and do provide mortgages, with over half the sector engaging in mortgage lending at some level. As at June 2022 credit unions had a mortgage book of approximately €301 million, which had grown 22% year-on-year. Since 1 January 2020, credit unions now have a combined capacity to provide up to €1.1 billion in additional SME and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 151 together. At the outset, the Deputy should note that recent Government policy has focused on strengthening the environmental rationale behind company car taxation. Until the changes I brought in as part of the Finance Act 2019, Ireland’s vehicle benefit-in-kind regime was unusual in that there was no overall CO2 rationale in the regime....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107, 117 and 158 together. The Commission on Taxation and Welfare was an independent group that was established in April 2021 as a result of a commitment in the Programme for Government. It was asked to independently consider how best the taxation and welfare systems can support economic activity, and promote increased employment and prosperity while...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Since 2015, we have seen a significant step up in corporation tax receipts, reaching €15.3 billion last year. While my Department will produce more definitive fiscal forecasts next week as part of the publication of Budget 2023, preliminary indications suggest corporation tax receipts of over €20 billion can be expected this year. This would mean corporation tax receipts would...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, it is a long-standing practice that the Minister for Finance does not comment, in advance of the Budget, on any tax matters that might be the subject of Budget decision. Currently newspapers are subject to a 9% VAT rate. It is acknowledged that Annex III of the VAT Directive which determines what products and services can fall into the reduced rate categories...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 142 together. I am very much aware of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council’s views on the need to reduce the over-reliance on corporation tax receipts and the potential level of 'excess' receipts as highlighted in their Fiscal Advisory Report. Indeed, the potential volatility and concentration risks in corporation tax receipts are dangers which my...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU Meetings (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I attended the scheduled Informal Meeting of Economic and Finance Ministers on the 9 and 10 September 2022 in Prague hosted by the Czech Presidency. The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among member states every six months and each presidency hosts one of these informal meetings. Informal meetings are designed to allow participants discuss items of topical or potential...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, in the Finance Act 2021, I enhanced and formalised the tax arrangements for working from home in line with Government policy to facilitate and support remote working. Accordingly, for the tax year 2022, an income tax deduction amounting to 30% of the cost of vouched expenses for electricity, heat and broadband in respect of those days spent working from home can...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: An Irish Real Estate Fund (IREF) is an investment undertaking where 25% or more of the value of that undertaking is made up of Irish real estate assets. The regime was introduced to address concerns raised regarding the use of collective investment vehicles by non-residents to invest in Irish property. A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a quoted company, used as a collective investment...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Since 2015, the Exchequer has benefitted from a remarkable surge in corporation tax receipts. As of end-August, these receipts stood at nearly €12 billion, and my Department now expects that total corporation tax revenue this year will top €20 billion. For comparison, a decade ago tax paid by the corporate sector amounted to approximately €4 billion. Certainly, these...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 120 together. I am advised by Revenue that their estimates are based on taxpayer units, where taxpayers who are married or in a civil partnership who elect to be jointly assessed are counted as one taxpayer unit. These estimates encompass all taxpayer types, such as those in employment, self-employed, or in receipt of taxable income from other...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 119 and 131 together. As the Deputy will be aware, it is a long-standing practice that the Minister for Finance does not comment, in advance of the Budget, on any tax matters that might be the subject of Budget decision.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Sep 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: With regard to the Deputy’s proposal to introduce new personal taxation treatment to encourage stay at home parents to enter part-time employment in strategic areas, I understand the rationale behind the Deputy's question. At the same time, the sectors mentioned by the Deputy are not the only sectors that are currently facing recruitment challenges in what is fortunately a very buoyant...