Results 1,541-1,560 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

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

Brian Cowen: 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 the relief and the development of the industry in...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I dealt with most of the issues raised in the Deputy's parliamentary question in my address to the House in response to the Private Members' motion on 17 May on this matter. As I stated then, while I accept that there have been instances over the years of project overspends, etc., that could have been managed better, I do not accept that there was a shocking waste of taxpayers' money, etc.,...

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

Brian Cowen: To date 84 submissions have been received on foot of the advertisement placed in the national newspapers and on my Department's website in January of this year. It is not envisaged that any further public consultation will take place other than to seek further clarification or information from those who have made submissions if this becomes necessary. It is of course, open to any member of...

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

Brian Cowen: In the 2003 budget, it was announced that no capital gains tax roll-over relief would be allowed for any purpose on gains arising from disposals on or after 4 December 2002. Section 67 of the Finance Act 2003 gave legislative effect to the abolition of this relief. There is no record of any meeting between officials of my Department and officials of the Department of Agriculture and Food to...

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

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy will be aware, taxpayer confidentiality requires that a Minister for Finance does not answer a parliamentary question about the tax affairs of an individual or company, other than when the Deputy is asking the question on behalf of the individual or company. In this instance, it is not clear that this is the case and in the circumstances, I regret I cannot provide the specific...

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...

Written Answers — Departmental Publications: Departmental Publications (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: There is currently one report awaiting publication in my Department. The report is entitled "Public Awareness Research of the National Development Plan and Community Support Framework 2000-2006", which was commissioned from Drury Communications in September 2004 and cost €33,680. It is expected that the report will be published shortly.

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

Brian Cowen: The programme of decentralisation will be implemented through the transfer of staff on a voluntary basis. There will be no redundancies and, as on previous occasions, the payment of removal or relocation expenses will not arise. However, consultations will be held with the public service unions on an ongoing basis to address the concerns of all staff affected by the programme.

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

Brian Cowen: The results published following the closure of the priority period for applications for decentralisation, 7 September 2004, showed that 8,958 applications were received during the priority period, of which 4,813 were from people currently located in Dublin. Of these, 8,152 were from civil servants, 4,236 of whom are based in Dublin. The central applications facility, CAF, continues to accept...

Written Answers — Price Inflation: Price Inflation (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The compilation of the consumer price index is a matter for the Central Statistics Office. The Deputy might note, however, that whether on a CPI basis or on the EU harmonised index of consumer prices, inflation in Ireland is at the lower end of the EU scale. With regard to competitiveness, I have dealt with this issue in other replies to the Deputy.

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

Brian Cowen: Revenue receipts depend on the rate of tax, the volume of transactions and the monetary value of those transactions. It is normal for tax revenues to rise when consumer spending rises and this, in turn, represents the favourable economic climate being fostered by the Government. This reflects extra revenue from existing levels of tax and, as such, the returns of tax revenue are not broken...

Written Answers — Disabled Drivers: Disabled Drivers (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The disabled drivers and disabled passengers tax concessions scheme is open to people with disabilities who meet the specified criteria and have obtained a primary medical certificate to that effect from the local branch of the Health Service Executive. Where the issue of the required certificate is refused, this can be appealed to the disabled drivers medical board of appeal, an independent...

Written Answers — Departmental Revenues: Departmental Revenues (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: As regards the M50 West Link bridge, the National Road Authority's share of the toll receipts is paid to the Department of Transport as an appropriation-in-aid. It, therefore, contributes to funding that Department's expenditure on transport services and investment. The Department of Transport received €8 million in 2004 from this share of toll receipts and it expects to receive €11.8...

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

Brian Cowen: The report of the decentralisation implementation group, DIG, of 19 November 2004 set out 15 organisations to be included in an early movers group and a further group of six possible early movers with a range of indicative dates for decentralisation of third quarter 2006 to third quarter 2008. In line with this there have been no staff moves to the above decentralisation locations to date....

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

Brian Cowen: Section 50 of the Finance Act 2004 provided for the introduction of a scheme for excise tax relief for biofuels. The purpose of the provision was to allow qualified and conditional relief from excise of biofuel used in approved pilot projects for either the production of biofuel or the testing of the technical viability of biofuel for use as a motor fuel. It was necessary to obtain approval...

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

Brian Cowen: The taxation of motor fuel is made up of two elements, mineral oil excise and VAT. The amount of mineral oil excise collected is based on the volume of motor fuel sold, in this case the number of litres of petrol or diesel sold. The revenue collected from mineral oil excise does not fluctuate with price changes. Therefore, assuming there is no change in the volume sold, the increase in tax...

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

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy will be aware, changes in taxation are made in the context of the annual budget and, accordingly, any requests made regarding changes in tax rates are considered in the period leading up to the budget. The Deputy will appreciate that it is neither practical nor prudent to adjust tax rates between budgets. However, it should be noted that Ireland's mineral oil tax on petrol and...

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

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 150 and 151 together. There is currently in place a scheme of tax relief for corporate investment in certain renewable energy projects, including those successful in the alternative energy requirement competitions. To qualify for the relief the energy project must be in the solar, wind, hydro or biomass technology categories, and be approved by the Minister...

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

Brian Cowen: I assume that the Deputy is referring to a single employee who is liable for full rate PRSI deductions and has the personal tax credit and PAYE credit only. For 2004, such an employee earning €79,000 had a net take home pay of €51,416. For 2005, such an employee earning €82,000 will have a net take home pay of €53,614. The increase in net take home pay is €2,198 or 4.27%. The...

Written Answers — Liquor Licences: Liquor Licences (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the information requested is not readily available. However, I have asked the Revenue Commissioners to forward all relevant information to the Deputy within a matter of weeks.