Results 23,881-23,900 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: That is correct. It still involves hiring many more teachers, however, and many more people to work in our social services. I will outline what share of that figure is driven by the demographic opportunities the Senator refers to when we publish the summer economic statement and the follow-on expenditure papers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware of the report but it only came out last week. The consequences of losing the UK's contribution to the EU budget will be handled by forthcoming processes from Michel Barnier. I have no comment to make on the report for now other than to acknowledge that the UK's exit will obviously pose big challenges for the European budget. This is one of the many matters that this and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: We will do that, Chairman. I have just been informed that many of the figures I gave the committee earlier today come from either the Courts Service or the Central Bank. Even from my notes here, however, I can see that we have figures available for 2014, 2015 and 2016. We will provide the committee with anything that we have.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: That is correct.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, very much so. I will be working on this area with the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan. We have a number of legislative proposals before the Oireachtas that colleagues in these Houses have differing views on. I respect that. I would certainly welcome the opportunity to meet this committee again to see if we can chart a way forward on these proposals.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is not so much that we have them with banks. We have a deferred tax mechanism that works for losses for commercial companies and organisations and it includes banks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, they are.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not have a time period apart from saying that deferred tax liabilities are there due to losses. They are no different from anything that we make available to another Irish company or organisation here.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: That depends on how they perform across the coming years. If we were to change the status of those deferred losses then that, in turn, would affect the capital status of the banks thus causing an entirely different problem for the Government and the Irish economy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am satisfied that the matter is a priority. I also know that the high level of premia is a really big issue for people in terms of their day-to-day cost of living. Insurance is also a big challenge for companies, particularly small companies. The Chairman did not ask me to comment but I will not comment on what happened last Monday. Yesterday morning, the Cabinet agreed to begin...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am absolutely looking at it. My Minister of State, Deputy Michael D'Arcy, also has a particular responsibility for the area. In terms of what we are doing about the matter, it is not a case that we will take an initiative in the future because we have already done so. The cost of insurance working group's report has made 71 recommendations that should be implemented by the end of 2018....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I view the decrease more than the beginning of the work that we need to carry out. We need to create an environment in which this kind of change occurs on a yearly basis.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I have been informed of no such breaches. I will meet the Governor of the Central Bank in the coming days and I will raise this matter with him.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I remember when the legislation came in that created the special managers the Chairman referred to. I know what the role is and how important it is. I am sure the Central Bank would take it very seriously if the legal requirements were not met. We are a few weeks in and I have not been informed of such a breach. If there is an issue in terms of this matter, I am happy to update the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am happy to have that. The Chairman will know the concerns we have about the Bill are genuine. It is not clear to us how this entity would be funded. It appears it would need to issue some form of bond to pay for the financial commitment. We do not understand how that would happen. Furthermore, we are not at all clear how such a unit would be kept off the balance sheet of the country....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: ECOFIN Meeting: Minister for Finance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The bank-related part is between one fifth and one quarter. The rest is the accumulated cost of running deficits. This is why, when Senator Horkan asked me about this point, I said the best way we can begin to get our debt soon is related to what we do in terms of our need to borrow every year. The level of debt in the economy is between €200 billion and €205 billion, which...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Regulation (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I have been advised by the Central Bank that regulated entities providing financial services in Ireland are required to comply with the Consumer Protection Code 2012 (the Code).  The Code applies to financial services providers authorised, registered or licensed by the Central Bank; and financial services providers authorised, registered or licensed in another EU or EEA Member State...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Compliance (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 110 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 sets out the Irish regime for the taxation of special purpose companies set up to securitise assets.  The tax provisions are intended to create a tax neutral regime for securitisation and structured finance purposes.  If the loan origination company is a qualifying company (within the meaning of section 110 TCA 1997) then...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Sale of State Assets (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Any proceeds from a sale of shares held in a bank by the State would not result in a beneficial impact to the General Government Balance (GGB) under the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010) framework. This is due to the fact that it such transactions are classified as a 'financial transaction' whereby it is essentially the exchange of one form of asset (shares, equities,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Irish Strategic Investment Fund (6 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The NTMA has advised me that a fundamental aspect of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund’s (the “Fund”) mandate is, as a commercial investor on behalf of the State, to act as a catalyst for co-investment in the Irish economy from private sector capital.  Accordingly the Fund structures its investments in a commercial manner and it is essential that it do so if it...