Results 1,481-1,500 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Written Answers — Public Service Contracts: Public Service Contracts (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The primary responsibility for the procurement, management and implementation of capital projects rests with individual Departments and public bodies under their aegis. Accordingly, the statistical information required by the Deputy is not held centrally. As the Deputy is aware however, my Department has been developing a suite of fixed price lump sum contracts in line with the Government...

Written Answers — Banking Sector: Banking Sector (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: It would not be appropriate for me in my role as Minister for Finance to comment on the likelihood or otherwise of a transfer or takeover of ownership of specific financial institutions in the State. Under national legislation, the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland must approve any acquisition which involves a stake of more than 10% in a bank on prudential grounds. In...

Written Answers — Public Service Wage Bill: Public Service Wage Bill (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The net public service pay bill over the period 2001 to 2004 was: Year â'¬m 2001 10,186 — an increase of 18% over the previous year, 2002 11,489 — an increase of 12.8%, 2003 12,773 — an increase of 11.2%, and 2004 13,746 — an increase of 8%. The net public service pay bill for 2005 is estimated at €14,953...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The financial services sector is a competitive dynamic environment and it is necessary to always look to the future for innovative products with which to ensure its continued success. In this regard, one only has to look at the continued success of the International Financial Services Centre, IFSC, as an example of how this industry continues to develop, notwithstanding the fact that the...

Written Answers — Interest Rates: Interest Rates (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. Moneylending is an expensive form of credit as the agreements are normally for small ticket loans lent over a short period of time. Therefore, the APR calculations work out much higher than the APRs charged from...

Written Answers — Banking Sector Regulation: Banking Sector Regulation (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003 established the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority. The post of consumer director is specifically provided for within the structure of the financial regulator established under that Act. The director exercises important consumer protection powers under legislation, including those under section 149 of the...

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

Brian Cowen: The issue of paying family income supplement through the tax system was considered in late 2002 by a working group established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to examine the role which refundable tax credits can play in the tax and welfare system. The group was made up of representatives of the social partners and was chaired by my Department. A perception existed at the time...

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

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 68 together. The Government is committed to having the minimum wage exempt from tax. However, we are also committed to sustaining economic growth and keeping the public finances in a healthy condition. The question of restoring the position which applied after budget 2005 where those earning the minimum wage were removed from the tax net will be a...

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

Brian Cowen: Deficits in pension funds arise for a number of reasons and can be of a temporary nature or may be more significant. It is a matter, in the first instance, for the relevant company, fund, trustees, members and board to deal with any such situation, subject to the necessary legislation and regulation by the Pensions Board as appropriate. In the non-commercial State sector, the funding...

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

Brian Cowen: I refer the Deputy to the response which I gave to a similar parliamentary question tabled by him for answer on 27 April. The question of the funding situation in pension schemes in the commercial State sector is primarily a matter for the board of each organisation directly concerned and I would expect that any relevant issues will be brought to the attention of the Ministers directly...

Written Answers — Programmes for Government: Programmes for Government (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy will be aware, progress on the implementation of the Government programme is kept constantly under review. The second annual progress report of this Government was published on 1 August 2004. Work is currently under way on the third annual progress report. This will show the good record of further progress towards meeting the commitments detailed in the programme.

Written Answers — Interest Rates: Interest Rates (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I welcome the publication by IFSRA, the financial regulator, of the credit card cost survey. The financial regulator publishes cost surveys twice a year on credit card charges. The cost surveys are designed to help consumers compare product costs between the main providers. The surveys set out the interest, fees and introductory offers available on credit cards. The information provided is...

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

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy may be aware, I appeared in the programme to which he refers. I would have to point out that tax reliefs are not available solely to the well off. In fact, many of the costliest reliefs in terms of tax foregone are widely availed of by all or several classes of taxpayers, for example, the exemption of child benefit from income tax, employer and employee pensions costs relief,...

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

Brian Cowen: There are currently eight EU directives for which my Department has responsibility which have yet to be implemented. The deadline has passed in the case of two of these directives. One of these two was transposed through the Finance Act 2005 and the Commission has now been notified of this fact. The second one will be transposed shortly by statutory instrument. The details of each of the...

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

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 110 together. The issue of tax reliefs is a matter for the budget when decisions will be made in the light of the detailed review of various tax reliefs currently being undertaken as set out in my 2005 Budget Statement.

Written Answers — Criminal Prosecutions: Criminal Prosecutions (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that there are two ways in which a taxpayer may have been in breach of the amnesty, first, in making a false declaration or, second, in not making a declaration. I am informed that the Revenue Commissioners do not have figures for the number of detected breaches of the amnesty. Given the confidentiality conditions built into the 1993 amnesty...

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

Brian Cowen: The residence rules were last updated by the Fianna Fáil-Labour Government in the 1994 Finance Act following a comprehensive review of the matter by the Revenue Commissioners and my Department. A person is regarded as resident in Ireland for tax purposes in a particular tax year if he or she spends: 183 days in the State in that year, or 280 days in aggregate in that tax year and the...

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

Brian Cowen: The latest figures from the central applications facility show there is very substantial interest in the programme. During the period for priority applications up to 7 September 2004, 8,958 applications made up of 8,152 civil servants and 806 public servants were received by the Public Appointments Service. Of these, 4,813 were from people — 4,236 civil servants and 577 public servants —...

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

Brian Cowen: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that precise figures are not available as to the number of letters which issued from the financial institutions. It is understood to be in excess of 100,000. It is not known how many accounts or individuals this represents because some individuals had accounts in different banks or in different branches of the same bank. In other instances, there was...

Written Answers — Ministerial Meetings: Ministerial Meetings (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 96 together. I, along with my colleague the Minister for Agriculture and Food, met the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development in Brussels on 12 May last to discuss the Commission's ongoing assessment of the stallion stud fee exemption in the context of EU state aid rules. At the meeting, I took the opportunity to outline the background to...