Results 12,181-12,200 of 32,924 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes. At that point, it is when the focus on structural measurements of the economy become - for want of a better phrase - one's friend. The European Commission would inquire as to the outputs of the economy on the basis of where it stood in the context of its cycle. If the economic cycle is in such a place where it is in difficulty or where we are going in the wrong direction, it...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I can answer the question and we can follow it with a note. It has improved slightly because EUROSTAT has issued guidance that allows us to make decisions on a forward-looking basis. As a result, we have a better idea of where policy on the matter stands. All that being said, I continue to be careful regarding the use of off-balance-sheet mechanisms. Even though some may not be on our...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with the first part of what the Deputy said. He summarised my own thinking on the matter, which is that we would look at putting together a fund which would have a countercyclical effect on the economy. I will make one point. Let us say we were to set up the fund as I am describing and stop contributions in 2021, for the sake of argument. We would end up with a fund of...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: My preference at this point would be to keep it out of the rainy day fund and that is what I will work through with the committee in the coming months. When this idea was originally conceived, regardless of who the parent of it was, it was about having a rainy day fund to deal with global shocks and how an open economy can respond to big events beyond its control. One of the ideas I have...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: What I have in mind now is to get the committee's paper in February. We will have the summer economic statement, SES, in April or May and within the period of nailing down what the SES will be and presenting it to the Dáil, I hope we will be in a position after that to begin to present the heads of the Bill to the committee for pre-legislative scrutiny. We are talking about something...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will have to write back to the committee and to the Deputy on the specific health projects. I am not in a position to answer that question now. On his point about public private partnerships, they do have a valuable role to play in the economy and there are many other projects that have been delivered well by PPPs. The benefit they have for the State is that we do not make any payments...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The current situation is that the National Development Finance Agency, which is an agency associated with my Department, works with all Departments on PPPs. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is increasingly playing a bigger role in terms of policy on PPPs and I anticipate that will remain the case in the future.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: There are two parts to the question. First, we have a set of PPPs that are either now complete or under way and I am not in a position to publish details on them because of the way they are conceived but we always look at the start of a project to see whether the figures stack up and then we evaluate at the end of a project whether it was the appropriate way to do it. That has informed the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: There is a role for the Comptroller and Auditor General in everything. That office looks back at all the work we do. My recollection is that it has focused on the role of PPPs in certain Departments, in particular the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. I am notified of any report from the Comptroller and Auditor General and my Department then has to respond back to it...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Does the Chairman think he will be able to establish a consensus?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: A majority view, perhaps.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance (31 Jan 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Chairman.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Stock Markets Regulation (1 Feb 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I can confirm for the Deputy that my attention has not been drawn to any such scenario as described in this question. In relation to the Deputy's assertion that it was the bank's policy not to reveal all losses to shareholders, I would highlight that the rules relating to the correct level of provisioning, and consequent losses, are determined by the relevant accounting...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tracker Mortgage Examination (1 Feb 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank has advised that the Tracker Mortgage Examination is on-going. However, it also advises that it is not in a position to comment on its supervisory engagements with individual lenders. Nevertheless, the Bank continues to engage with and challenge all lenders to ensure that they identify all tracker impacted customers in a timely manner and to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Repatriation of Money (1 Feb 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 74 together. As the Deputy is aware, I am not at liberty, nor is it appropriate for me, to discuss the tax affairs of individual companies. The Government profoundly disagrees with the European Commission’s analysis in the Apple State Aid case. An appeal is therefore being brought before the European Courts. Such an appeal takes the form of an...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Internal Audits (1 Feb 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Internal and EU Audit Unit of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) provides an internal audit service to my Department on a shared service basis.     As required by the Internal Audit Standards launched by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in 2012, the Internal Audit Unit function underwent an External Quality Assessment (EQA)...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (1 Feb 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that their records do not indicate if DIRT is being applied or charged by the relevant financial institution on the person concerned. The person concerned should contact the relevant financial institution to establish if DIRT has been applied or charged. If it has, the person concerned may be entitled to a refund of some or all of the DIRT applied or charged.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Knowledge Development Box (1 Feb 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The purpose of the Knowledge Development Box (KDB) is to encourage companies to develop intellectual property and thereby engage in substantive R&D operations that have a positive impact on the Irish economy. The KDB applies for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2016. The claimant company has a period of up to 24 months to make a claim for KDB relief. I am...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (1 Feb 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that there is a Research & Development (R&D) discussion group which reports to the Direct and Capital Taxes Sub-Committee of the Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC).  The main purpose of the discussion group is to provide a forum for Revenue and representative organisations to raise and address issues affecting the operation of the R&D tax...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Apprenticeship Data (1 Feb 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department does not operate an apprenticeship programme. None of the Agencies under the remit of my Department has any persons currently enrolled in apprenticeships.