Results 2,001-2,020 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Strategies (18 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: I published the terms of reference for the National Payment Strategy (NPS) on 27 June 2023. Since then a team in my Department has commenced this work. The Strategy will take account of the changing payment landscape and will consider ongoing legislative developments at EU level, including proposals on instant payments, payment services, legal tender and the Digital Euro. It will be...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Data (18 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Central Bank of Ireland publishes quarterly statistics on mortgages. The most recent publication was on 15 September last and provides mortgage statistics for the second quarter of 2023. These statistical releases are publicly available on the Central Bank of Ireland webpage. According to the Central Bank data, the total number of Principal Dwelling Household (PDH) and Buy to Let (BTL)...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (18 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: I am advised by Revenue that traders are not required to identify the VAT yield generated from the supply of specific goods and services on their VAT returns. Therefore, it is not possible, using information provided in VAT returns, to identify the number of AEDs purchased since the change in VAT rate or the price paid by consumers for them.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Budget 2024 (18 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy should note that no decision was made in Budget 2024 to reduce the VAT rate on print maps or electronic maps to 0%. As the Deputy may be aware, the temporary VAT rate of 9% introduced in July 2011 and again in November 2020 for the tourism and hospitality sectors included certain printed matter such as brochures, maps, and programmes. Consequently, when this VAT rate reverted to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Budget 2024 (18 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: Budget 2024 provided for a total net Budget package of around €14 billion, consisting of a €6.4 billion core budgetary package of which c. €5.3 billion is allocated to public spending and c. €1.1 billion for taxation measures. Complementing this is a set of once-off measures to assist households and businesses with the cost of living, amounting to €2.7...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Customs and Excise (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: Revenue has primary responsibility for the prevention, detection, interception, and seizure of controlled drugs intended to be smuggled or illegally imported into, or exported from, the State. This Government has been consistent in its strong support in ensuring that Revenue has the necessary resources to fulfil its mandate in this regard. Revenue’s Maritime Unit which has a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Schemes (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Help to Buy (“HTB”) incentive is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers (“FTP”) with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The incentive gives a refund of Income Tax (“IT”) and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (“DIRT”) paid in Ireland over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: The capital budget allocation for the Revenue Commissioners in the years 2022 and 2023, and the percentage of that capital funding that was actually spent in 2022, is outlined in the table below: Vote 09 - Revenue Commissioners 2022 Allocation 2022 Expenditure % spent in 2022 2023 Allocation €m €m %...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: My Department and Revenue have, for some time, been aware of issues arising from contractual arrangements within the General Practitioner (GP) community whereby some GPs assign income under their General Medical Services (GMS) contract to a GP practice in which they are a partner or an employee. The income is then treated by the parties as if it were income of the practice for tax purposes...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: I am advised by Revenue that traders are not required to identify the VAT yield generated from the supply of specific goods and services on their VAT returns. The estimated cost of zero-rating VAT on e-books and audiobooks was derived from estimates of household expenditure on e-books and digital services using third party data sources. These sources do not provide the quantity and average...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: Government is aware that a small number of areas can face difficulties in terms of affordability and availability of insurance, including in the construction sector. As the Deputy will be aware, neither Government nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, nor do we have the power to direct insurance companies to provide cover to specific...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Schemes (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: Help to Buy (HTB) is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The incentive offers a refund on Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in Section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. An increase in the supply of new housing...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: As I have previously indicated in my response to the Deputy, I am aware of this differential treatment and my officials are examining the issue. In this context it is worth noting the Commission on Taxation and Welfare have recommended that assets held within an ARF should be treated for inheritance tax purposes in the same way as other assets where inherited by anyone other than the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Grant Payments (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Department has oversight of the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme (DDS) only. The scheme provides VAT and VRT reliefs as well as a fuel grant to qualifying disabled drivers and disabled passengers. Qualifying disabled drivers and disabled passengers are those that have been assessed as meeting one of six medical DDS eligibility criteria and who thus hold a Primary Medical...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: Government policy in relation to flooding is focused on the development of a sustainable, planned and risk-based approach to dealing with this issue. The cornerstone of this approach is the €1.3 billion committed to the delivery of flood relief schemes over the lifetime of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2030. Where defences have been built, there is a reasonable expectation...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Exemptions (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply. Under domestic legislation, professional medical care services recognised as such by the Department of Health are exempt from VAT. Professional medical care services recognised by the Department of Health are generally those medical care services supplied by health...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: Mortgage interest tax relief will be available to taxpayers in respect of their principal private residence in the State where the outstanding mortgage balance was between €80,000 and €500,000 on 31 December 2022 and the taxpayer is compliant with Local Property Tax requirements. The relief will be available at the standard rate of income tax in respect of the increase in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is acutely conscious of the impact of rising interest rates and mortgage costs on many taxpayers. It is for this reason, I introduced a temporary one-year, targeted form of mortgage interest tax relief as part of Budget 2024. Mortgage interest tax relief will be available to taxpayers in respect of their principal private residence in the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Data Protection (17 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy should note that my Department has a data breach management policy in place to ensure that any data breaches are dealt with as required under Articles 33-34 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For operational security reasons, my Department is not in a position to provide any details of its cyber security systems, as it would be inappropriate to disclose information...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (12 Oct 2023)

Michael McGrath: Ireland’s excise duty treatment of fuel used for air navigation is governed by European Union (EU) law as set out in Directive 2003/96/EC on the taxation of energy products and electricity, commonly known as the Energy Tax Directive (ETD). The provisions of the current ETD relating to aviation fuels are transposed into national law in Finance Act 1999 (as amended), which provides for...