Results 17,841-17,860 of 32,983 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Broadband Plan (14 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Spending Code requires that Sponsoring Agencies (i.e. those bodies that are responsible for delivering projects) prepare an economic appraisal such as a cost benefit analysis (CBA) or a cost effectiveness analysis for projects with an estimated cost in excess of €20 million before the relevant Sanctioning Authority (usually the body providing the funding) makes a decision on...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge Application (15 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Universal Social Charge (USC) was introduced in Budget 2011 to replace the Income Levy and Health Levy. It was a necessary measure to widen the tax base, remove poverty traps and maintain revenue to reduce the budget deficit. It is a more sustainable charge than those it replaced and is applied at a low rate on a wide base. However, the base for USC does not include payments made by the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Corporation Tax Regime (15 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I recognise that there has been a substantial increase in corporation tax receipts in recent years and, while in many ways this is a positive reflection of our economic recovery and improved trading conditions, I am also aware that there are risks associated with this increase. In particular it is important to ensure that longer-term spending commitments are not entered into on the basis of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Union Lending (15 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Credit Unions are already allowed to offer mortgages to their members and indeed a number of Credit Unions do. As of March 2019 there were €175 million of mortgages outstanding across the sector. The amount of mortgage lending Credit Unions can engage in, however, is limited by the Central Bank’s lending regulations for Credit Unions which allow only a certain proportion of a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (15 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Both I and the Minister of State for Financial Services and Insurance, Mr. Michael D’Arcy T.D., are very conscious of the difficulties that the cost and availability of insurance are having on many businesses and community groups in this country. The Deputy should note that there is no policy or legislative ‘silver bullet’ to decrease the cost of insurance. This was...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Redeployment (15 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 95 together. As the Deputy is aware, the Civil Service Mobility scheme which comes under the remit of my department, and is administered through HR Shared Services, National Shared Services Office, offers an opportunity for staff members to apply for mobility through an open and transparent system. The scheme will support the needs of the business,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Broadband Plan Funding (15 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As I have already indicated, I intend to provide the additional capital required to fund the cost of proceeding with the National Broadband Plan from future revenues. This will be done in the context of updating the overall multi-annual capital ceilings set out in Project Ireland 2040.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Budget Measures (15 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The attached spreadsheet (Attachment 1) sets out gross voted current, capital and total expenditure ceilings for each Vote group, as published in each Expenditure Report for Budgets 2014 to 2019. The expenditure ceilings are presented here exactly as they were published in each Expenditure Report from 2014 to 2019. As such, they do not reflect any transfers of functions or technical...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Data (16 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset, it is important to note that while as Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation, my Department does not collect the type of information being sought by the Deputy. I am also informed that the Central Bank of Ireland does not collect the type of information being sought either. In order to be helpful as...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rate Application (16 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply. Under the EU VAT Directive it is not permissible to differentiate between the supply of different types of residential property, such as apartments and houses, for the purpose of applying VAT rates.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Data (16 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset, it is important to note that while as Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation, my Department does not collect the type of information being sought by the Deputy. My Department contacted Insurance Ireland for any details they might hold on behalf of their members in relation to this matter. Insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (16 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy has raised a specific issue with regard to the Help to Buy scheme which is provided for by section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act. I am advised by Revenue that there is not enough information provided in the details supplied to enable Revenue to address the matter raised. If Deputy Kehoe provides the details and contact information of the taxpayers concerned to Revenue,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legislative Process (16 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware Report Stage of the National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018 had originally been scheduled for Tuesday 16 April. Due to the time given to debating other matters on the evening concerned it was not reached. The re-scheduling of Report Stage is a matter for final agreement between the Party Whips but my Private Office has received...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Home Loan Scheme (16 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan was launched on 1 February 2018. Prior to its launch, a tranche of €200 million of long-term fixed-rate finance was borrowed by the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to provide funds for the scheme to local authorities. The amount of €200 million initially provided for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) was based on the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (16 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Under the current pension increase policy for pre-existing pension schemes agreed as part of the Public Services Stability Agreement 2018-2020 (PSSA), with effect from 1 September 2017, pay increases applied to serving staff in 2016 and 2017, as well as those approved over the course of the Agreement, are passed on to qualifying pensions. A pension will qualify for an increase if the pay rate...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (21 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset it is important to note that 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 of insurance products, as these matters are of a commercial nature, and are determined by insurance companies based on an assessment of the risks they...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Broadband Plan Expenditure (21 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government's decision to proceed with the National Broadband Plan (NBP) was taken on the basis that additional expenditure required beyond that allocated within the National Development Plan (NDP) framework will be funded by future revenues and will accordingly not have funding repercussions for other planned projects within the NDP. Based on preliminary assessments, current...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Connectivity Fund (21 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The proceeds of the sale of the state's shareholding in Aer Lingus have been used to establish the Connectivity Fund which is managed by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF). The Connectivity Fund is being invested on a commercial basis as a sub portfolio of the ISIF fund, and consistent with the overall ISIF double bottom line mandate i.e. investing for both commercial return and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (21 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: 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 of insurance products, as these matters are of a commercial nature, and are determined by insurance companies based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept. This position is...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (21 May 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 137 to 145, inclusive, together. I refer the Deputy to the Income Tax Reform Plan which was published by my Department in 2016 and which discussed tapering of tax credits. As this report made clear, there are a number of technical issues and policy issues which would need to be addressed in order to achieve a tapered withdrawal of income tax credits,...