Results 2,821-2,840 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: The Office of the Paymaster General in my Department is responsible for the issue of pension payments to almost 15,000 retired civil servants and their surviving spouses across a range of Departments. The details sought by the Deputy are provided in the following table. The figures quoted represent gross pension payment issue figures for the periods involved. They include payments to retired...

Written Answers — Freedom of Information: Freedom of Information (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: The bodies and agencies under the aegis of my Department that are subject to freedom of information in respect of certain functions only are the Office of the Information Commissioner, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Office of the Ombudsman. Under section 46(1)(c)(i) of the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003 the Act does not apply to a record relating to "a...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I have noted the establishment of a special committee of inquiry by the European Parliament referred to by the Deputy. I understand that the committee will report on its findings within 12 months but will publish an interim report after four months. As the Deputy will be aware, the supervision of a United Kingdom based entity is the exclusive responsibility of the United Kingdom regulator....

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the most recent relevant information available relates to corporation tax returns submitted for accounting periods ending in 2003. An estimated breakdown of the figures for corporation tax returns on a geographical basis is available on the basis of bailiwick, meaning the jurisdiction or boundaries within which Revenue sheriffs, county...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the most recent relevant information relates to figures of corporation tax paid by companies based in Donegal in the calendar years 2002, 2003 and 2004 and which are set out as follows. Companies in Donegal. Calendar Year Corporation Tax Paid â'¬ million 2002 24.1 2003 17.5 2004 25.5 An estimated breakdown of the...

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that figures of the net receipt of inheritance tax and gift tax in the years 1997 to 2005, inclusive, are contained in following table: Year Inheritance Tax Gift Tax â'¬ million â'¬ million 1997 81.3 6.4 1998 98.5 7.7 1999 133.7 13.4 2000 154.7 15.4 2001 121.5 13.8 2002 128.1 13.1 2003...

Written Answers — Budget Submissions: Budget Submissions (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: The normal meetings with lobby groups take place before the budget. I have had no similar meetings since then although I have met individuals, as is the norm for any public representative, on issues arising from the budget on which they have views. The Finance Bill 2006 will be published on 2 February and it is not the practice to comment on it, one way or another, before it is presented to...

Written Answers — Bullying in the Workplace: Bullying in the Workplace (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: The policy in my Department in respect of bullying, as it is throughout the Civil Service, is contained in a document entitled A Positive Working Environment — An Anti-Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Bullying Policy for the Civil Service. The document, which was revised in July 2005 and came into effect on 1 September 2005, was produced by my Department in partnership with the staff...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: For the year ending 31 December 2005, the following are the details of payments made in respect of exceptional performance in my Department. Civil Service posts at the levels of assistant secretary and deputy secretary are covered by a scheme of performance related awards. The operation of the scheme is overseen by the Committee for Performance Awards. Since 2002, the funding for awards is...

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, as stated in my reply to a similar question from the Deputy on 13 October 2005, outstanding arrears for 2004 were sizeable and collection of those arrears had not commenced. An additional amount becoming available for 2004 by way of home improvement credit was therefore offset against the outstanding arrears.

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: Stamp duty exists on various financial cards in order to provide Exchequer revenue. The stamp duty on cheques, bills of exchange and promissory notes has existed for many years and when electronic means of money transfers were subsequently introduced, stamp duty was gradually extended to these products to ensure that the stamp duty from cheques, etc. was not eroded. The current annual rates...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that separately identifiable figures of the yield of stamp duty on credit cards are available for the years 1996 to 2005, inclusive. For cash cards the relevant data available are from 1997 to 2005. This includes stamp duty on ATM cards from 1997 to 2005 and on debit cards and combined cards from 2003 to 2005. Year Credit cards Cash cards ...

Written Answers — Corporate Procurement Plan: Corporate Procurement Plan (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: The requirement to produce an annual corporate procurement plan was first introduced in the national public procurement policy framework issued by my Department in May 2005. The Department is taking steps to produce a corporate procurement plan in 2006.

Written Answers — Public Contracts: Public Contracts (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I have received many representations and have met representatives of the Construction Industry Federation in relation to the proposed construction procurement reforms. The key objectives of the reforms are greater cost certainty, better value for money and more cost effective delivery of capital works projects. Our aim is to incorporate best practice from the private and public sectors into...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that tax relief under the heading of health expenses may be allowed to kidney patients in the circumstances mentioned by the Deputy as set out below. I should point out that health expenses relief is generally given by means of repayment after the tax year to which it relates. The figures quoted relate to the tax year 2004 and are the most up to date...

Written Answers — Revenue Contact Numbers: Revenue Contact Numbers (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the PAYE lo-call number 1890 33 34 25 was not available from 20 to 25 October 2005. This was due to the launch of a completely new and greatly expanded PAYE computer system at that time, which required significant live staff training on the new system. Since 14 November 2005, the operation of the PAYE lo-call number 1890 33 34 25 has been...

Written Answers — Special Savings Incentive Scheme: Special Savings Incentive Scheme (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: The Revenue Commissioners' analysis of the 2004 SSIA annual returns, which are furnished by all qualifying savings managers, provide the latest date for which detailed figures are available in relation to SSIA scheme. The total number of active accounts at 31 December 2004 was 1,094,294. The breakdown of these SSIA accounts by month of commencement is as follows: SSIAs at December 2004 by...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: There are two bodies under the aegis of my Department for which the 2004 annual reports have not yet been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. The 2004 annual report for the special EU programmes body is currently awaiting final clearance from the Comptroller and Auditor General and Northern Ireland Audit Office. Regarding the Valuation Office, while annual reports under the Public...

Written Answers — Disabled Drivers: Disabled Drivers (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: The disability criteria for eligibility for the tax concessions under this scheme are set out in the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994. A person must be severely and permanently disabled and satisfy one of the following conditions, namely, persons who are wholly or almost wholly without the use of both legs, persons who are wholly without the use of...

Written Answers — Disabled Drivers: Disabled Drivers (25 Jan 2006)

Brian Cowen: I presume the Deputy is referring to the disabled drivers and disabled passengers (tax concessions) scheme that provides relief from VAT and VRT on the purchase of a car adapted for the transport of a person with certain disabilities, as well as relief from excise on the fuel used in the car up to a certain limit. The disability criteria for eligibility for the tax concessions under this...