Results 16,181-16,200 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Staff Allowances (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that there has been no change in the way meal allowances are treated for tax purposes for civil servants or any other taxpayers.  Round sum meal allowances/expenses payments are taxable in full and must be treated as pay.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consumer Protection (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Central Bank that, in the case of buy-to-let mortgages, the following Codes of Conduct may apply: - Consumer Protection Code 2012 - Code of Conduct for Business Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME Code) - Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) In order to determine which Code applies in a particular case, a regulated entity would need to assess whether a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Cost (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, excluding allowable interest, approximately €838m rental expenses were claimed for 2012, which is the most recent tax year for which complete data are available. The available breakdown of this figure is as follows Expenses € Expenses Repairs €248m Expenses "Section 23" type relief €21m Expenses ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Property Sales (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I refer the Deputy to PQ answer 49 & 55 on the 12th of June 2014, which outlines the position regarding the property referred to in your question.   As the Deputy is aware, NAMA is not in a position to gift assets to potential purchasers as it is obliged to set the realised value of assets against the indebtedness of its debtors.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Budget 2015 (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: Our established practice, which is consistent with the requirements of the Stability and Growth Pact, is that budgetary planning is based on the most up-to-date economic and fiscal information. This means, in the case of Budget 2015, that the final parameters, including the adjustment, will be decided in early October when the latest macroecnomic forecasts prepared by my...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Staff Sick Leave (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: Please see the total number of sick days taken by staff in my Department in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014 as requested. Sick Leave 2011 2012 2013 2014 To Date* Self Certified Sick Leave 301.5 183.5 144.2 78 Certified Sick Leave To Date (>28 Days) 1816.6 851.71 403.76 513 Certified Sick Leave To Date (<28 Days) 1231.35 709.05 791.55 384.52 Total Certified Sick Leave...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consultancy Contracts Data (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I refer the Deputy to the answer given on 21 January 2014 in response to a Parlamentary Question - Reference No. 2361/14. There has been no change in the situation since then. I am setting out below the information in tabular form provided in the response to Parliamentary Question 2361/14: Consultant External Report Amount Paid Year...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Yield (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that compliance data in relation to the Local Property Tax (LPT) is available broken down by city and county councils nationally and the most up to date figures for LPT collected in 2013 and 2014 were published on 16 April 2014 on the Commissioners' website at: . The Commissioners have confirmed that by the end of December 2013, €318m had been...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Application (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by Revenue that Sections 10B and 15A of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provide, that an exemption from Local Property Tax (LPT), or a reduction in market value may, subject to specific conditions, apply to a residential property that was built or adapted to make it suitable for occupation by a permanently and totally incapacitated person as their sole or...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: An individual, (the 'primary claimant'), is entitled to the single person child carer credit (SPCCC) where he or she: - Is not married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership, - Is not jointly assessed or in receipt of the basic personal tax credit for a widowed person or a surviving civil partner, and - Proves that for a tax year he or she has a qualifying child residing with him or her for...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Growth (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The recent forecast by my Department, contained in the Stability Programme Update, shows the general government debt to GDP ratio reducing from 123.7% in 2013 to 107.2% in 2018. In the short term, a reduction in the cash balances held by the State will assist in the reduction of the debt ratio. In the medium term, the achievement of progressively larger primary surpluses and the impact of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU-IMF Programme of Support (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: Our EU/IMF Programme ran from late 2010 to December 2013. The European Council Recommendation of 7th December 2010, set out an adjustment path towards the correction of our excessive deficit out to 2015. These deficit targets were incorporated into the programme. For the programme years these were 10.6% in 2011, 8.6% in 2012 and 7.5% in 2013. The outcome was 8.9% in 2011 (underlying), 8.2%...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Budget 2015 (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: It is the standard practice for the Minister for Finance to review all taxation policy in the run up to the annual Budget. As the Deputy will be aware, I have at all times tried to design policies to encourage growth while also addressing the need to restore stability to the public finances.  Within three months of coming into office, the Government launched the Jobs Initiative. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Debt (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The latest comparative data on government debt are shown in Eurostat's press release for the EDP notification tables on 23 April 2014. Sixteen Member States had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP at the end of 2013. Ireland's end-2013 debt was recorded at 202.9 billion which is 123.7% per cent of GDP and is the fourth highest debt ratio in the EU28 area, behind...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: Developments in the Irish economy in the year to date have been largely positive. What is particularly encouraging are the growing signs of recovery in domestic demand which suggest that some of the imbalances built up during the bubble years are being corrected. Supported by the gradual restoration of consumer confidence over the past year, personal...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: Ireland continues to compare favourably internationally in terms of GDP per capita. According to the latest IMF World Economic Outlook, Ireland's per capita GDP expressed in terms of purchasing power parity was estimated at $39,547 in 2013. This compares with the euro area average of $34,015; $37,306 for the UK and $53,101 for the USA.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Competitiveness (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: Substantial progress has been made in recent years to improve the competitiveness of Ireland's economy.  Ireland's rate of annual HICP inflation has now been on par with or below that of the euro area average for every month since March 2008. For instance, in 2013 HICP inflation for Ireland was just 0.5 per cent, as compared with a euro area...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 and 59 together. As the Deputy is aware, as part of the 2011 recapitalisation exercise, the Government imposed SME lending targets on AIB and Bank of Ireland for the three calendar years, 2011 to 2013. Each bank was required to sanction lending of at least €3 billion in 2011, €3.5 billion last year and €4 billion in 2013 for new or...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Resolution Processes (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) sets out requirements for mortgage lenders dealing with borrowers facing or in mortgage arrears. The CCMA provides a strong consumer protection framework to ensure that borrowers struggling to keep up mortgage repayments are treated in a fair and transparent manner by their lender, and that long term resolution is sought by lenders...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Charges (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Programme Documents (the Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality and the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies) agreed following the 10th Review of the EU-IMF Programme of Financial Support included a commitment to carry out an assessment of banks' fee income by end-December 2013 as follows: The authorities will assess banks' fee income...