Results 15,341-15,360 of 32,961 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: By virtue of some of the changes I have made in the past two budgets, it is evident that I acknowledge how tax policy has a role to play in the rental sector. However, I need to be careful not to put in place measures that absorb large amounts of resources. For example, the proposal to grant tax relief to any long-term leases within the State has the potential, in the most extreme scenario,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will respond in the same spirit. We had a debate about this. In that debate, I outlined to the Deputy how progressive I believe our income transfers already are. The committee will be aware that in the coming period, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection will publish a social impact assessment of budget 2019. I believe that and other measures which were announced on...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. I spoke on this in a related section earlier today. I do not propose to accept the amendment mainly because my Department and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection published a report on this a number of months ago. We have already done it. I know there are differing views on the conclusions that we reached and the data in them but such a report was...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The report which was published attempts on page 18 to provide an analysis with regard to the potential loss to the Exchequer. It looks at it for different income levels per worker and seeks to work out the potential loss in revenue to the State. Its conclusion states these data indicate that the potential loss to the Exchequer for a person engaged in work at a rate equivalent to the average...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: If I could anchor the algebra in more prosaic words, it is the view of the Department that, at an aggregate level, the data are not indicative of a significant increase in the prevalence of self-employment in the economy over the past 16 years. That said, the Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection is examining this matter. It held its first hearing on the issue today....

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Message to Dáil (8 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Indeed. I will add to what has been said by the Chairman, Deputy Doherty and others. I thank everyone for the way in which this business was conducted. There are differing views. We have been here since 9.30 a.m. yesterday and have worked our way through a long Bill. I have done my best to respond to the issues that have been raised. I thank all of the staff from Revenue and the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Finance Act 2017 amended sections 598 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, and section 89 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 to allow that the leasing of agricultural land for solar energy production may be considered qualifying agricultural activity for CGT retirement relief and CAT agricultural relief. These measures apply to disposals made on or after 1 January 2018...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 158, 164 and 169 to 171, inclusive, together. The legislation governing the deductibility of expenses incurred in employment is set out in section 114 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA), which provides that for an expense to qualify as a deduction against income from an office or employment, the expense must be wholly, exclusively and necessarily...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I note the Deputy’s question on behalf of his constituent in relation to the tracker mortgage issue and the matter of local public banking. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department, along with the Department of Rural and Community Development, published a Report on Local Public Banking at the beginning of July this year. The findings of the Report are that there was not a compelling...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Betting Regulations (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As announced in the Budget I have increased the rate of betting duty from 1 per cent to 2 per cent for all bookmakers and the rate of betting intermediary duty from 15% to 25% on the commission earned for betting intermediaries. These measures will take effect from 1 January 2019. The rate of betting duty at 1% on the amount of bets wagered in Ireland is at an all-time low, and betting...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Meetings (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I can inform the Deputy that it would be normal practice for a Department official to accompany the Minister and/or Minister of State at meetings with business and other leaders. My Department's 'Record Management Guidelines' provides that all formal meetings should be properly documented or minuted. The Department's internal 'Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 Policy' document provides...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Data (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Employment and Investment Incentive (“EII”) is an incentive whereby investors can claim relief for investments in qualifying companies. EII is a State Aid. It was a notified aid up to October 2015, after which it came within the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). A number of changes to EII were necessary to ensure that it is consistent with GBER. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Compensation Fund (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank of Ireland has advised me that it was notified by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority on 7 March 2018 that it had ordered Alpha Insurance A/S to cease writing new business including renewal of existing contracts and business with immediate effect. It was further notified on 9 May 2018 that the liquidators of the insurance company Alpha Insurance A/S had filed a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Corporation Tax Regime (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 165 and 166 together. The first Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD), presented in January 2016 and agreed by all Member States in July 2016, provided for five separate anti-avoidance measures to be transposed on an agreed schedule between 2018 and 2023. One of these measures was the introduction of Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules, or the alignment of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Data (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is Ireland’s national promotional institution. The SBCI’s goal is to increase the availability of appropriately priced, flexible funding to viable Irish SMEs. The SBCI uses an on-lending model. This means it does not lend directly to SMEs. The SBCI works with both banks and non-bank finance providers providing low cost...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Life Insurance Policies (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I have been made aware of the issue raised by the Deputy through a number of recent parliamentary questions and I have considerable sympathy for people in this specific situation. However, as Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation. Neither I nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Data (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is Ireland’s national promotional institution. The SBCI’s goal is to increase the availability of appropriately priced, flexible funding to viable Irish SMEs. The strategic mission of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is to deliver effective financial supports to Irish SMEs that address failures in the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Portfolio (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised that Sections 99 and 202 of the NAMA Act prohibit NAMA from disclosing confidential debtor information, including information on the assets owned by its debtors. It is therefore not possible to provide information on the location of residential units owned by debtors. I am advised that NAMA’s acquired loan portfolio was initially secured by some 22,735 residential units in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Property Sales (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised that, since inception, a total of 19,224 residential units located in the Republic of Ireland have been sold by NAMA debtors and receivers. These residential units were owned by NAMA debtors and the sales proceeds were used to repay associated debt. The figures include both completed and partially completed units, as well as over 8,000 new houses or apartments delivered through...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Property Sales (13 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised that it was not possible for NAMA to provide the information sought in the time available and therefore I will make arrangements to provide the outstanding information in line with Standing Orders.