Results 4,901-4,920 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Air Services. (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: I agree that drugs are a menace and a serious danger to the functioning of society, and we must do all that we can. Increased resources are being deployed to deal with them, by the gardaí, Customs and Excise and everyone else. The Deputy has asked whether the promised review has been completed and if I would make a statement on the matter. That review has not yet been completed, although...

Mortgage Lending. (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: I am aware of the reports referred to by the Deputy. The sub-prime market exists to provide finance to those who have difficulty accessing mainstream credit, usually owing to an adverse credit history or difficulties proving income. Consequently, interest on such loans is normally higher than in the case of mainstream credit, as the lender must allow for a greater degree of credit risk. As...

Mortgage Lending. (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: I understand the company to which the Deputy referred is one of a handful of companies operating in this sector, but I have no information on the intentions of such companies in what is essentially a commercial matter for themselves. In regard to the procedures used by the Financial Regulator to determine what charges it will allow a lender to impose, section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act...

Mortgage Lending. (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: As I said, the Financial Regulator has a consumer protection remit in the area of financial services. It was established as a modern regulatory authority that would perform its function in an independent fashion.

Mortgage Lending. (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: If a practice comes to the Deputy's attention which she believes is not in compliance with the statutes, she should raise it with the Financial Regulator.

Mortgage Lending. (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: I will raise the matter following this discussion and I am sure it will be investigated. That is the statutory remit of the Financial Regulator. It is a question of ensuring it has the information so it can investigate any issues.

Stamp Duty. (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: A 2% stamp duty is charged on most non-life insurance premiums and this is part of the normal stamp duty system. The exceptions are re-insurance, voluntary health insurance, marine, aviation and transit insurance and export credit insurance. This duty was introduced in 1982 and it yielded €90 million in 2006. It is not possible to distinguish between the different types of insurance...

Stamp Duty. (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: I have had no complaints about these charges, nor has the Financial Regulator contacted me about them.

Estimates for Public Services 2007: Motion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: During the course of this debate on the 2007 Estimates the Opposition sought to deny reality and claimed that this is more of the same and that there is no indication of how the money will be spent, no strategy, no coherent approach to value for money and no proper scrutiny by the Dáil of the Estimates. The reality is that in its contribution to this debate the Government side has clearly...

Written Answers — Performance Management: Performance Management (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: As I indicated in my reply to PQ 33214/06 of 18th October last, I presume that the Deputy is referring to my Department's Report of the Pilot Project on Resource Allocation, Business Planning and Performance Measurement of August, 2005. The conclusions and recommendations of this report informed Government thinking on reform of the Estimates and Budget process signalled in Budget 2005 and...

Written Answers — Travel Insurance: Travel Insurance (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: Under the EU Insurance Mediation Directive, travel agents who sell insurance only as part of a holiday package are specifically exempt from financial regulation. These agents are therefore not authorised and regulated as financial services providers by the Financial Regulator and do not come within the scope of the Consumer Protection Codes recently introduced by the Financial Regulator. The...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the Relevant Contract Tax (RCT) Steering Group has made significant progress to date in 2006. As I have previously advised the House, the Revenue Commissioners have made a commitment to assigning 25% of its audit and compliance resources to the construction sector in 2006. In addition to this they launched a national construction project to be...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: The scheme of capital allowances for the construction of private hospitals was reviewed by Indecon Economic Consultants as part of the overall review of property tax incentives in 2005. Indecon consulted widely in the course of their review, including consultations with the Department of Health and Children and the Health Service Executive. Their report was published on 6 February 2006 and is...

Written Answers — Tax Evasion: Tax Evasion (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: I take it that the Deputy is referring to the subject of Revenue prosecutions activity, which is dealt with at Chapter 2.5 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Report for 2005. I am sure he will appreciate that I cannot comment on individual sentences imposed by the courts for tax evasion. Sentencing is a matter for the judiciary and I can only emphasise this point. The courts clearly...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: It is presumed that the Deputy is referring to the statements made by the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners (Mr. Frank Daly) to the Committee of Public Accounts when he appeared before it on November 9th 2006. As the record of the PAC clearly indicates, Mr Daly made no reference to one in five taxpayers claiming tax relief to date in 2006. In response to questions from the Chairman of...

Written Answers — Capital Expenditure: Capital Expenditure (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 68, 113 and 120 together. Following the precedent set in the preparation of previous National Development Plans, an ex-ante evaluation of investment priorities for the next NDP (2007-2013) was commissioned by my Department from the ESRI. The ESRI published its report on 24th October last. As I stated in my comments at the time of the publication of the ESRI...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: The State encourages individuals to supplement the social welfare pension arrangements with private pension arrangements by offering tax relief on private pension provision. The tax relief arrangements for private pension provision are long-standing and have helped a significant proportion of the workforce to provide for supplementary pensions thus reducing the pressure on the Exchequer to...

Written Answers — Capital Expenditure: Capital Expenditure (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: As part of the improved arrangements for managing capital programmes under the rolling multi-annual annual capital envelopes, Departments and Offices may carry over unspent Exchequer capital of up to 10% of their voted overall capital allocation to the following year, thereby ensuring that such amounts are available for spending on capital priorities in the following year. As published in the...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: There would clearly be various risks associated with the Deputy's suggestion; any changes that affect the housing sector must be approached with caution as even minor amendments may significantly alter the dynamics of the housing market.

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (22 Nov 2006)

Brian Cowen: The position is that prior to the passing of the Finance Act, 1999, any person going on pension under a defined contribution scheme or a retirement annuity contract was required to purchase an annuity with any remaining pension fund moneys, following the drawdown of the appropriate tax-free lump sum. The Finance Act, 1999 introduced changes which gave a significant degree of flexibility and...