Results 1,461-1,480 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: Under the current scheme of capital allowances available with regard to private hospitals the hospital must have the capacity to afford medical or surgical services all year round, provide a minimum of 70 inpatient beds, outpatient services, operating theatres and on-site diagnostic and therapeutic services and have facilities to provide at least five specialist services, ranging from...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: It is not true that investment is going into the private sector while the public health sector gets nothing. There is historically unprecedented capital investment going into the public health sector since 1997. Whatever people may suggest about the past, this Administration has arranged for the largest amount of public capital and current investment into the health sector in the history of...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I would like to speak about the private assessment of where we stand. The amount of money invested in the public capital investment programme is the amount of capital that the Government believes to be available in the context of its various budgetary requirements, such as the need to maintain growth in competitiveness, job creation and revenue. The Government decides on its priorities across...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The word "crisis" is probably the most overused word in political debate. I do not suggest that I am unaware of some of the problems which remain. The Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children has provided increased resources because she is anxious to deal with further issues that need to be addressed. There have been significant improvements in capacity and personnel. I refer to...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I have been informed by the Revenue Commissioners that no more than four companies have opted to participate in the tonnage tax scheme and, accordingly, paid tax in that manner. The total tax paid under the scheme in 2003 was €100,000. There does not appear to be cause for concern about the appropriateness of tonnage tax to the circumstances of any of the companies in question. The tonnage...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I do not think it has been envisaged that the tonnage tax system will be included in the review. I have no problem with ensuring that the system is examined in the context of the preparations for the 2006 budget, given the recent interest that people have shown in it. I do not think it was originally included in the review, but I can arrange for someone to examine it as part of the review....

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I do not have that information. I will try to provide it for the Deputy, but it is not included in the supplementary reply. A company is not entitled to capital allowances in respect of ships that qualify for tonnage tax. The effect of this is that a company is not entitled to capital allowances in respect of capital expenditure on assets such as ships and other plant and machinery which are...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I do not have information on specific tax issues. However, where capital allowances are sought for purposes which were not contemplated in the provisions of the tax Acts, Revenue challenges them.

Written Answers — Financial Services: Financial Services (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I welcome the publication of the One Parent Exchange Network's report which highlights the difficulties lone parents can face in relation to debt and accessing financial services. The report provides a valuable insight into an ongoing problem facing some sectors of society that this Government, in conjunction with the financial regulator, is committed to resolving. The main obstacles facing...

Written Answers — Special Savings Incentive Scheme: Special Savings Incentive Scheme (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, based on the 2004 SSIA annual returns furnished by all qualifying savings managers, the total number of active accounts at 31 December 2004 was 1,094,294 and the average monthly subscription was €175 at that date. Fuller details of the SSIA position after end 2004 will be published on my Department's website shortly. As indicated in replies...

Written Answers — Revenue Investigations: Revenue Investigations (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: In 2004, the Revenue Commissioners launched a campaign to identify Irish residents holding offshore accounts and a voluntary disclosure scheme was introduced to enable Irish resident holders of such accounts to declare related tax liabilities. Approximately 15,000 disclosures were received in this voluntary phase. The benefits of the voluntary disclosure scheme were that persons making a...

Written Answers — House Prices: House Prices (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: There are a number of property based tax relief schemes which cover a wide spectrum of economic and social activity. These include specific incentives to encourage the rejuvenation and development of targeted areas as is the case of the urban renewal and rural renewal schemes or to encourage activity in certain sectors, such as child care provision and student accommodation, where a rapid...

Written Answers — National Development Plan: National Development Plan (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I will be putting proposals to Government shortly on the issue of a successor to the current national development plan, NDP, which will run until the end of 2006. As the Deputy is probably aware, previous NDPs have been a requirement of the European Commission to enable Ireland to draw down its allocation of Structural and Cohesion Funds. Unlike previous occasions, there is no requirement...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Government's decentralisation programme, announced in budget 2004, identified Tullamore as one of the decentralised locations to which 131 posts from my Department were to be relocated. The management advisory committee of my Department decided that the finance directorate, the Civil Service Centre for Management and Organisation Development, the national development plan evaluation unit...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 107 together. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the procedures adopted in relation to validating a claim to non-residence status depend on the circumstances in each case. The administration of these validation procedures is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners and I am informed by them that these procedures are kept under review. I am,...

Written Answers — Public Private Partnerships: Public Private Partnerships (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, was established on 1 January 2003. One of its roles is to advise Departments about the optimum means of financing the cost of capital projects in order to achieve value for money, whether procured through a PPP approach or through traditional procurement and to advise State authorities on all aspects of financing, refinancing and insurance of...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: There is a variety of pension schemes in the non-commercial State sector — for example, some resourced on a pay-as-you-go basis and some funded schemes using resources provided through the relevant grants with pension outlays partly resourced from the funds concerned and from ongoing grants. Where specific funds exist, they are managed and administered on behalf of their members by...

Written Answers — Standards in Public Office Commission: Standards in Public Office Commission (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Standards in Public Office Commission, the standards commission, has been in existence since December 2001. It replaced the Public Offices Commission which was established in November 1995. During that period I am not aware that the standards commission or its predecessor made any formal proposal to my Department that the ethics legislation, that is, the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners in relation to their recent report on effective tax rates for high earners that for the small number of taxpayers whose income consisted of very large sums of deposit interest, DIRT deducted meant that their effective rate of income tax paid was very close to the 20% standard rate — the rate at which DIRT is deducted from deposit interest. This is...

Written Answers — EU Funding: EU Funding (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Luxembourg Presidency has recently put forward a package of proposals on the next financial perspective for the EU budget for the period 2007-13. The Presidency sees its proposals as a compromise package which would form the basis of political agreement at the European Council of heads of state or government in Brussels on 16 and 17 June next. The package incorporates cuts in all the...