Results 9,961-9,980 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Portfolio Issues (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy will be aware the mortgages under the 80/20 Deferred Payment Initiative are provided by Bank of Ireland, AIB through its subsidiary EBS, and Permanent TSB the details of which are not made available to NAMA. However, I am advised by NAMA that of the houses available under the scheme 60% were acquired using the deferred payment mortgage through one of the participating banks the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Portfolio Issues (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by NAMA that it is continuing to carry out extensive analysis of data on residential property under the control of its debtors and receivers and expects to be in a position to publish the findings from this analysis in its 2012 Annual Report. At this stage in its analysis, NAMA advises that some 10,000 properties securing its loans are currently rented and are generating an...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bond Markets (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Ireland successfully issued a new €5 billion benchmark bond on 13 March at a yield of 4.15%. This sale was the National Treasury Management Agency’s (NTMA) first new 10-year issuance since January 2010 when €5 billion of the October 2020 bond was issued at a yield of 5.091%. The NTMA recognises seventeen Primary Dealers in Irish Government Bonds all of which are members...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Treasury Management Agency Bond Issues (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Ireland successfully issued a new €5 billion benchmark bond on 13 March at a yield of 4.15%. This sale was the National Treasury Management Agency’s (NTMA) first new 10-year issuance since January 2010 when €5 billion of the October 2020 bond was issued at a yield of 5.091%. The issue yield of 4.15% represented the fair value price for a bond maturing in 2023 relative...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Outright Monetary Transaction Scheme Eligibility (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 95 together. In my reply to the Deputy’s Question No. 211 of 12 February last, I set out the principal criteria for the ECB’s Outright Monetary Transactions (OMTs) as set out in its press statement of 6 September 2012. Those criteria have not changed. It is clear is that the ECB will decide on the application of OMTs in any particular...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU-IMF Programme of Support Drawdowns (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: At the end of February 2013, the nominal liability of loans from the IMF under the EU-IMF Programme amounted to €19.14 billion. The details of the individual IMF loan amounts are set out in table format below. The table also provides information on the IMF loan maturities. The Deputy should be aware that all of this information is available on the website of the National Treasury...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 97 and 98 together. On 13 March 2013 the Central Bank announced new measures to address mortgage arrears, including the publication of performance targets for the main mortgage banks and a consultation process on changes to the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA). The new approach is aimed at ensuring banks offer and conclude sustainable solutions...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Application (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The introduction of the Local Property Tax will deliver significant economic and fiscal reform by broadening the revenue base to pay for vital public services in a manner that does not directly impact on employment. In that way, it will contribute significantly to meeting the immediate financial requirement of the EU-IMF programme. It will be fair and progressive, with the owners of the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I thank Senator Reilly for tabling this recommendation. Her colleague, Deputy Doherty, and I had a long discussion on the benefits of impact assessments, including equality analysis and formulating and evaluating tax policy. I gave him an assurance that I would ask one of my political advisers to look at ways in which equality analysis could be done, especially to examine the Scottish model...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have asked him already to look at the Scottish model and to report back to me. Normally it would take a couple of weeks to come back to me on something like that. I will communicate with Deputy Doherty, if the Senator is agreeable or would she like me to send her the information separately?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I thank Senator Barrett. I will read a portion of my speaking note which covers the issues he has raised. Regulatory impact assessment is a tool used to assess the impact of increased regulation arising from legislative change. The key employee provision in this section does not apply automatically to companies. It is available where companies elect to avail of it. As such, it cannot be...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Like many activities in public administration, we are always measuring the inputs during debates in the Dáil and Seanad but we must start measuring outputs and outcomes. We are moving into that space. The Department was pretty good at that but it has been pre-occupied with crisis management in more recent times. Now it has returned to measuring outputs and outcomes which is important for...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: We have a different view and we evaluated the provision carefully. Our priority in social protection measures is to maintain the level of the base rates of payment. A lot of things were given when times were better. When there was a lot of money around Finance Ministers had a certain amount of largesse to distribute, sometimes for worthy causes and other times to simply buy votes in the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is a follow-up by the Department of Finance on a decision being made by the Department of Education and Skills. The decision by the Minister for Education and Skills was that the student contribution will be increased by ¤250 this year, next year and the year after. That was to ease the financial constraints on the third level sector in that students would make a bigger contribution to...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Our difficulty is the open-ended nature of the facility being provided. If people can go privately to a physiotherapist, as they do, and make an unlimited number of appointments, they can claim back that cost for tax purposes. It is open-ended. I would find it very difficult to even cost it. In terms of the control on it, it is allowable provided the GP says, by way of prescription, that...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have figures on the relief for health expenses from 2004 to 2009. In 2004, the cost was ¤110 million; in 2005 it was ¤134 million; in 2006 it was ¤167 million; in 2007 it was ¤226 million; in 2008 it was ¤267 million; and in 2009, tax relief for health expenses other than nursing home expenses is relieved at the standard rate; it dropped to ¤146 million. I will not make a commitment...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Central Bank of Ireland is the regulator for prudential and solvency purposes. Typically, insurers, including private health insurers, must satisfy various appropriate prudential requirements. These requirements apply generally to all insurance and financial services companies and relate to matters such as financial operation and investment policies. The Health Insurance Authority, or...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The recommendation was put before the Dáil in the form of a proposed amendment. It proposes the preparation of a report on pre-retirement access to all forms of pensions savings in certain unspecified circumstances. The proposal is prompted by the inclusion in section 17 of provisions for limited pre-retirement access to additional voluntary contributions, or AVCs. I made clear in my...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: One of my concerns when I introduced the provision to access AVCs was that once access to AVCs was made legal creditors, particularly banks, would force people to access them to pay off debt. This is exactly what the Senators have said. The same considerations apply to any more general access to pension savings. The considerations would be on the one hand to protect the contributor so that...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages (21 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: As recommendations Nos. 8 to 13, inclusive, relate to subsections (2) and (6) of section 17 of the Bill as passed by Dáil Éireann, I propose to deal with them together. These subsections deal in one way or another with the temporary rescinding of certain of the provisions included in the Finance Act 2011 relating to the ARF access conditions which were introduced in the context of the...