Results 13,321-13,340 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: The credit is 20%. It would be 20% of whatever the percentage increase is. If the premium went up by 10% it would be 20% of ten which is 2%.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: No. Across the insurance sector there are hundreds of policies and they all have variations and are priced differently.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: This is a corrective measure and will not be an annual event.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: Deputy Boyd Barrett again referred to gold-plated insurance policies. I have already stated that I was misquoted in that regard, the point I made being that gold-plated premia are the most costly policies on which to give tax credits simply because they are more expensive. I never said the holders of such policies would be the only people affected by the budget change. In fact, holders of...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: There is no excess. That was removed a couple of years ago.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I do not believe I can conduct a health policy debate here in the course of the Finance Bill. The last two contributions have been substantially about health policy in general rather than about the Finance Bill provision. I do not believe I should be expected to reply to that. Deputy Pearse Doherty made a valid point that the incentive might be higher if people got a rebate. The...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: The purity of the Deputy's ideology is being diluted by the fact that his constituency has one of the highest percentages of private health insurance in the country. He finds himself in a conflicted position-----

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: -----and he has to talk to his constituents while at the same time dance around his ideological position. I have seen people come in here with radical views before and the system ruins them. The Deputy should be very careful around here.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am opposed to it on cost grounds. It is the practice now of a Sunday evening after a match for the coach to tell everybody on the team to get physio the following day or before they come to training again. We could not cope with that cost. There would be no cost control on it. A great number of people - as I said, whole teams - could be claiming this. I do not know what the cost would...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is approximately 1.9 million.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I will read the briefing note provided. If self-referral for physiotherapy were allowed, an estimate of the additional cost to the Exchequer would be unquantifiable, but it would undoubtedly increase the overall cost of the relief. In addition, the amendments tabled by the Deputies, if passed, would inevitably lead to calls for other treatments to qualify similarly for relief, which could...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: It was €131 million in 2011, which is the latest figure available.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: Yes. The sequence I have is from 2006 when it was €167 million. In 2007 it was €226 million. In 2008 it was €267 million. I presume the standard rate came into effect in 2009 because the amount paid reduced to €146 million. It was €127 million in 2010 and €131 million in 2011. I am told the amount of relief has increased again but I do not have...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: Everything has to go through a GP. I had a doubt about speech therapy so I checked with the official about that. It seems that everything must go through a GP.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: It would vary from GP to GP but I presume they could. Normally, what is in question is treatment for a particular injury. One gets treated until in the opinion of the physiotherapist one no longer requires further sessions. I think that is how it works. It might vary from geographic area to geographic area depending on how football is played and such matters.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I move amendment No. 50: In page 22, lines 7 to 9, to delete all words from and including “in” in line 7 down to and including “provisions” in line 9 and substitute the following:“by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2A):“(2B) Notwithstanding the provisions”.This amendment to section 12 is technical in nature and is required...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: Does the Deputy refer to circumstances where somebody has a social welfare payment and additional income?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: Does the Deputy mean in cases, for example, where one is in receipt of two pensions.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: The generality of social welfare payments are taxed but they are not subject to universal social charge. That is the distinction. There might be one or two payments that are not taxed but generally they are taxed.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: There is a scheme to encourage research and development in the country and it is part of the IDA package of incentives. It is part of the policy to move manufacturing in Ireland up the food chain to have a more highly skilled base to the manufacturing industry. By and large, if a manufacturing plant has a research and development unit attached, it is moving up the food chain, as they say....