Results 1,861-1,880 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Public Procurement Contracts: Public Procurement Contracts (26 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: In order to ensure greater participation of small to medium sized enterprises in tendering for public works contracts a threshold of €250.000 and below has been set where only the open procedure is to be used. This means that tenderers' suitability is assessed at the same time as their tender prices. It is a requirement that tender documents for public works projects state that the...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (26 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: VAT is charged on the supply of goods and services, and the rate applying is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. The provision of sporting facilities is among a number of tourist related services being made subject to a new temporary lower reduced VAT rate of 9% from 1 July next. All other goods and services that apply at a reduced rate will...

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (26 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The position is that the invalidity pension which is a payment from the Department of Social Protection is a taxable source of income. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they will contact the taxpayer in question directly with regard to his personal tax credits.

Written Answers — Cross-Border Projects: Cross-Border Projects (26 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: My Department is the supervising Department, in cooperation with the Department of Finance and Personnel Northern Ireland, for the Special European Union Programmes Body (SEUPB), a north-south body established under the Good Friday Agreement. The SEUPB is responsible for managing the cross-border PEACE and INTERREG programmes which are both co-funded by the EU. The SEUPB has advised that...

Written Answers — Illicit Trade in Tobacco: Illicit Trade in Tobacco (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The Europol EU Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA 2011) reported that preferred destinations for cigarette smuggling within the EU are countries with comparatively high taxes on tobacco such as the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Spain, the UK and Ireland. It has been the policy of successive governments to maintain comparatively high excise rates and thereby high prices for...

Written Answers — Illicit Trade in Tobacco: Illicit Trade in Tobacco (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the penalties for tobacco smuggling are contained in Section 119 of the Finance Act 2001. That Section sets out the various actions that constitute offences of evasion or attempted evasion of excise duty. The court penalties when this provision was introduced in 2001 were, on summary conviction a fine of £1,500 or, at the discretion of the...

Written Answers — National Statistics: National Statistics (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The data requested by the Deputy for the period 1980-2015 is set out in the table. The current forecast horizon is out to 2015 and so forecasts post 2015 are not available at present. For consistency, the figures are presented in billions of euro, rounded to one decimal place. The national debt and national debt interest figures for the years 1980-2009 are set out in the 2010 and earlier...

Written Answers — Freedom of Information: Freedom of Information (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is currently carrying out preparatory work to implement the commitments in the Programme for Government in relation to the Freedom of Information Acts. When this work is completed the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin T.D. will bring proposals to the Government.

Written Answers — State Savings Products: State Savings Products (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The National Solidarity Bond is one product in the range of National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) State Savings products offered by the NTMA to personal savers through the post office network. The suite of NTMA State Savings products also includes Savings Certificates, Savings Bonds, Prize Bonds, Instalment Savings and Deposit Accounts such as the Ordinary Deposit Account and the Deposit...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The legislation in question, to which my predecessor in this post referred in replies to the Deputy through parliamentary questions numbered 100 of 16 June 2010 and 87 of 7 October 2010, is to do with the extension of the option to invest in an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) to all members of Defined Contribution pension schemes in respect of the main benefits from those schemes. The...

Written Answers — EU-IMF Fund: EU-IMF Fund (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: Following the formal review mission, which concluded in mid-April, the EU/IMF Programme was updated to take account of implementation and developments since the programme was first agreed in November 2010. It was also amended to reflect Government policy priorities. The revisions were approved by Eurogroup, ECOFIN and the IMF Executive Board on the 16th and 17th of May 2011. The conditions...

Written Answers — State Companies: State Companies (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities, established by my predecessor in July 2010 and chaired by Mr. Colm McCarthy, recently completed an examination of, inter alia, the accounts and the cost base of the commercial State bodies. The Review Group's report was distributed to all members of the Oireachtas at the time of its publication in April. On foot of the Group's report, my...

Written Answers — Tax Reliefs: Tax Reliefs (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: I assume the Deputy is referring to the current annual earnings cap of €115,000. This cap acts, in conjunction with age-related percentage limits of annual earnings, to put a ceiling on the annual amount of tax relief an individual taxpayer can obtain on employee or personal pension contributions. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the full year yield to the Exchequer arising...

Written Answers — Civil Service Staff: Civil Service Staff (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The Public Service Agreement 2010-14 (the "Croke Park" Agreement) provides for agreed redeployment arrangements to apply in the Civil Service and in other parts of the public service. The initial focus is on redeployment within the relevant employment or sector and it is only when this is not possible, that redeployment in another sector is considered. The purpose of redeployment is to ensure...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: I note the concerns raised by the Deputy's constituent in the matter of the pension fund levy. From the details supplied, I also note that the individual concerned has already retired and is in receipt of a pension in payment. I am not in position to say, on the basis of the details provided, whether the person will be impacted at all by the levy and, if so, to what extent. As to the legal...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: The latest estimates of the structural deficit, both as a percentage of GDP and in monetary terms, are presented in the table below. These figures were compiled on the basis of economic and budgetary forecasts produced this spring, and were published in the latest Stability Programme Update submitted to the EU Commission at the end of April. Table 1: Structural Balance 2006 2007 2008...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: Since my appointment as Minister for Finance on 9 March 2011 the relevant details are as follows: Name Title Salary (per annum) Duties Mary Kenny Special Adviser €83,337 Any duties which may be assigned to her from time to time as appropriate to the position of Special Adviser as set out in Section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. My colleague, the Minister for Public...

Written Answers — Financial Services Regulation: Financial Services Regulation (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: I would like to refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Question No. 12472/11 on this topic which I answered on Tuesday 24 May 2011. The Financial Services Ombudsman has advised me that, at present, the average length of time from receipt of a complaint to the issuing of a finding is 11 months. I should point out that the Financial Services Ombudsman is independent in the carrying out of his...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: How the pension fund levy will affect individual pensions will be a matter for individual pension scheme trustees and administrators. The chargeable persons for the purpose of the pension fund levy will be the scheme administrators, that is the trustees or other persons having the management of the assets of the pension schemes or plans. Where pension scheme assets are, for example, held in...

Written Answers — Financial Services Regulation: Financial Services Regulation (31 May 2011)

Michael Noonan: I assume that the Deputy's question relates to the obligation on financial institutions and others to identify their customers under Anti Money Laundering legislation. The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 requires customers to be identified on the basis of documents, including documents from a Government source, or information that a credit institution has...