Results 21,941-21,960 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Financial Services Regulation: Financial Services Regulation (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: Currently there is no regime in place targeting specifically, the authorization and supervision of businesses labeled "bill payment", "debt management" or "debt advice". Depending on the exact business model undertaken by a firm, it may or may not be subject to regulation by the Central Bank. The Central Bank has advised me that, following the failure of a firm in mid-2011, the Bank...

Written Answers — National Assets Management Agency: National Assets Management Agency (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: NAMA has no employees. All personnel are employed by the NTMA and the salary cost of staff who are engaged in the NAMA business is recharged to NAMA by the NTMA. The number of employees of the NTMA directly engaged as NAMA officers at the end of 2010 was 104 and, as set out in the National Asset Management Annual Report and Financial Statements 2010, which is posted on the NAMA website,...

Written Answers — National Assets Management Agency: National Assets Management Agency (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by NAMA that through National Asset Loan Management Limited it has obtained judgment in 10 cases to date that it has initiated as plaintiff since it was established. All are High Court judgments. Judgments have also been obtained by participating institutions in cases which they are managing on NAMA's behalf and in proceedings that issued in the name of the participating...

Written Answers — National Assets Management Agency: National Assets Management Agency (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I appointed Mr John Mulcahy to the Board of NAMA on 7th March, 2012. There is currently one vacancy on the NAMA Board. My Department recently sought expressions of interest for appointment to the NAMA Board and that process closed on 6th March, 2012. A number of expressions of interest were received. Following consideration of these and of other suitable candidates, I intend to appoint an...

Written Answers — National Assets Management Agency: National Assets Management Agency (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by NAMA that the scenario put forward by the Deputy i.e. restrictions on access to publicly funded projects through land administered by NAMA, has not been a significant issue for NAMA. I am further advised by NAMA that it has not carried out any specific study on restrictions. However, I am informed that NAMA works constructively with all public bodies in relation to any matter...

Written Answers — National Assets Management Agency: National Assets Management Agency (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: My Department has had discussions with the European Commission on the deferred mortgage consideration initiative and arising from those discussions NAMA has had discussions with the Competition Authority. I expect the discussions with the European Commission to conclude shortly. I am informed by NAMA that they have completed the preparatory work including identifying pilot properties and...

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, the Government has imposed lending targets on the two domestic pillar banks for the three calendar years, 2011 to 2013. Both banks were required to sanction lending of at least €3 billion in 2011, €3.5 billion this year and €4 billion in 2013 for new or increased credit facilities to SMEs. I can confirm to the Deputy that both banks have achieved their 2011...

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: Unfortunately, it has not been possible to get the information from the covered institutions in the timeframe allowed by the Question. I will write to the Deputy in the near future with information provided by the institution.

Written Answers — National Asset Management Agency: National Asset Management Agency (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, I announced the establishment of a group to advise me on NAMA in my 2012 Budget speech. I subsequently appointed Mr Michael Geoghegan to chair the group. Further to the announcement in my Budget speech regarding the establishment of a group to advise me on NAMA, and the appointment of Mr. Michael Geoghegan as Chairman of this group, I appointed Mr. Denis Rooney and...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: There are a number of reasons why, under existing policies, early withdrawals of pension savings are not permitted, the principal one being that pension schemes and plans (and the associated tax reliefs) are designed as long term savings vehicles based on the principle that the savings will be "locked away" until retirement. Otherwise, there would be little reason to treat pension savings...

Written Answers — Disabled Drivers: Disabled Drivers (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am not aware of any changes to the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme, to come into effect on 1 May 2012. Any changes would be considered in the context of the annual Budget.

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that income derived by an individual from the letting of a taxi licence is chargeable to income tax. The rate of income tax is dependent on the individual's total income from all sources. I am also informed by the Revenue Commissioners that a gain on the disposal of a taxi licence is liable to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at a rate of 30%. If it is the...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that under the provisions of Section 152 of the Finance Act 2010, the Office of the Taxi Regulator in the National Transport Authority supplies information to Revenue. The data that Revenue currently receives annually includes: Information relating to drivers, vehicles and combined licences (details of licence holders who hold a driver and vehicle...

Written Answers — Personal Public Service Numbers: Personal Public Service Numbers (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that Personal Public Service Numbers (PPS Numbers) are issued automatically by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) to children born in Ireland and otherwise on application to the DSP. The PPS Number is required by the Commissioners to register an individual for tax purposes and is sought on all tax registration forms. It does not...

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that due to the varying nature of the different taxes and the timing of payment and statutory return obligations, it is their practice to publish data in relation to tax debts on an annual basis, facilitating a meaningful comparative analysis. The latest published figures for outstanding taxes were published on 31 March 2011. Of the total debt of...

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: It is not appropriate for me, as Minister for Finance, to comment on or become involved in the detailed mortgage position of an individual mortgage holder. However, I can confirm to the Deputy that the lending institutions in Ireland, including those in which the State has a significant shareholding, are independent commercial entities. Ultimately, the pricing of financial products,...

Written Answers — State Debt: State Debt (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Exchequer and General Government information requested by the Deputy is set out in table 2. My Department's current forecast horizon extends to 2015 meaning that projections for the years beyond this are not available at this time. The 2000-2009 Exchequer balance figures are taken from the September 2011 Budgetary and Economic Statistics publication. The 2010 figure is from the 2010...

Written Answers — State Debt: State Debt (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: The most recent Exchequer deficit estimates for the years 2013-2015 were presented in Budget 2012 last December. They are also set out in the table below. There are presently no official Exchequer deficit estimates for the period post 2015. The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) advises me that a list of outstanding Irish Government bonds can be accessed on its website....

Written Answers — State Debt: State Debt (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy should be aware that the data contained in this response, which has been supplied by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), relates to the outstanding level of National debt. At end-February 2012, it stood at €121.2 billion, as shown in the table below. National debt is essentially the debt of the Exchequer and is a subset of General Government debt which is the...

Private Members' Business. European Stability Mechanism: Motion (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Sinn Féin Party for moving this motion this evening. It gives me the opportunity to put some material in the public domain. First, there is a matter I wish to bring to the attention of the House as the Government has always committed itself to informing the Dáil about any development concerning the payment of the promissory note at the end of this month. In recent months we...