Results 13,361-13,380 of 32,960 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Corporation Tax Regime (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am committed to taking on board all the input I have received from the consultation on the Coffey report to ensure we can continue to have a tax code that is both competitive and deals with issues of international concern. However, where I differ with the Deputy very strongly is in noting that a deduction is not the same as a loophole. Companies of all natures are entitled and are able to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Corporation Tax Regime (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: When the Deputy looks at the companies who are accessing research and development grants, will he also be cognisant of the fact that they are creating employment in Ireland? Many of the companies the Deputy has referred to are very large employers. Their investment, which many other countries wanted, has been secured in Ireland. The different clauses the Deputy refers to, such as grants...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Criminal Prosecutions (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to advise the Deputy that the DPP is entirely independent in carrying out her functions and neither I nor the Department of Finance are privy to her decisions. It would not be appropriate for me to question or query any action taken by the DPP in relation to these proceedings, and I did not discuss this matter with the chairman or CEO of NAMA. However, I am aware from recent...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Criminal Prosecutions (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: A Leas-Chathaoirligh, we have just heard a number of allegations there-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Criminal Prosecutions (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: -----levelled against individuals who are not present to defend themselves.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Criminal Prosecutions (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: When he responds, the Deputy might explain what a fact is, as he understands it, and what is an allegation. The Deputy knows that I cannot intervene in any decision that is made by either the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Data Protection Commissioner. He also knows that it would be entirely inappropriate and wrong for me to engage in any matter which NAMA is dealing with while it...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Criminal Prosecutions (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Any investigation that is under way on the part of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner of any matter that it is raising with NAMA is a matter for that body. If it has any concerns that information is not being fully shared with them, or any issues in relation to the investigation, it has significant power under law to deal with that matter. I am sure if there were any such...

Other Questions: Corporation Tax (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: In the Finance Bill 2017, I introduced an 80% cap on the relevant income against which capital allowances for intangible assets may be deducted in a tax year.  This reinstated the cap which had been in place but which was lifted in the Finance Bill 2014 and therefore did not apply to assets onshored between 1 January 2015 and 10 October 2017. On the recommendation of the Review of...

Other Questions: Corporation Tax (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I have supplied information to the Deputy in the context of last year's Finance Bill on the contact between my Department and my predecessor across the period when that decision was made. On the question of the decision I made, I made it on the basis of consultation I had with my own Department. I have outlined to Deputy Doherty the contact I had with bodies and organisations in the run-up...

Other Questions: Corporation Tax (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I re-emphasise that intellectual property was brought to our country in the past and there was an expectation of what taxing regime would apply to that intellectual property when it was moved into our jurisdiction. I believe we should maintain that taxing regime. We gave commitments on what our international tax structure was going to be. Investment took place on that basis. If we were to...

Other Questions: Personal Contract Plans (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Personal contract plans, PCPs, are a type of hire-purchase financing agreement used for the purchase of motor vehicles. They normally comprise three parts: an up-front deposit payment, ongoing monthly payments and a final payment at the end of the contract term. While the consumer will have the hire and use of the car, ownership of it remains with the finance provider. Hire-purchase...

Other Questions: Personal Contract Plans (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: There is no pass the parcel at all taking place in regard to these matters. The figures the Deputy has referred to are correct. Let us look at the amount of new lending in this category. In 2017, it was €835 million. This increased from €96 million in 2012. Therefore, it is a really significant increase. It is a matter that I am taking seriously. As I stated, I am...

Other Questions: Personal Contract Plans (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: In my response to Deputy Michael McGrath, I referred specifically to consumer protection law as something that needs to be considered in regard to this category of finance. It is a category of finance that has grown in the way I have described. I am aware of who might be gaining access to the finance and how it is used. I have received the reports over a number of weeks and I am now...

Other Questions: NAMA Operations (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I advise the Deputy that, as Minister, I play no role in the day-to-day operations of NAMA, which are set out in the NAMA Act 2009. As such, it is not appropriate for me, as a Minister, to discuss with NAMA how it should deal with an operational matter such as this. I can confirm, however, that my officials have been briefed on this matter. I am informed that, having considered the...

Other Questions: NAMA Operations (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I assume that when the Deputy asks if I have read the report, he is referring to the ruling made by the Data Protection Commissioner. I have not read the ruling, but I do have the summary of the commissioner's views on the matter and an update on NAMA's response. On whether I hold NAMA to account, it has a business or strategic plan and is accountable to me for its implementation. I meet...

Other Questions: NAMA Operations (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Michael McGrath referred to Project Eagle. As he knows, an inquiry is under way and any decision on accountability will have to be dealt after it has been concluded. I hold the board and the chairman accountable for implementation of their business plan and published strategy. Should matters emerge from inquiries that take place which raise issues for NAMA, of course, I will also...

Other Questions: Tracker Mortgage Examination (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: In April the Central Bank provided me with a comprehensive update on the tracker mortgage examination. It subsequently published the update on its website. The report indicated that an additional 3,400 impacted on accounts had been identified since the previous December progress report, bringing the total number of impacted on accounts to 37,100. Progress has been made in the payment of...

Other Questions: Tracker Mortgage Examination (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will answer the Deputy's question, but I wish to return to two other matters related to staff loans included in the Deputy's original question. The Central Bank has made it clear to lenders that their staff, who have impacted mortgage accounts, are to be included in the examination in the same way as all other impacted customers. The Central Bank has now indicated that it is satisfied that...

Other Questions: Tracker Mortgage Examination (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Pearse Doherty said that this matter is still unresolved and unconcluded. I agree with him, it is. Deputies have raised a number of issues with me, as I have dealt with this matter, on where we were with staff loans, where the Central Bank was with staff loans and where we were with the issue on the prevailing rate of interest. I have now updated the House on where that stands. On...

Other Questions: Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base Proposals (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I have not read the book but I did read of the speech. I might ask the Deputy if he read either but I am sure he has. On the different issues he has referred to, President Macron, in his speech, referred to a defined corridor for corporation tax rates and increased convergence and called for a rethink on the taxation of digital companies. EU member states are currently discussing and...