Results 2,941-2,960 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: In the minute it will not be possible to respond to all those issues but I will touch on tax warehousing because I am aware it is a very important issue for a lot of businesses. At the end of March the value of debt warehoused was more than €2.2 billion across 63,600 businesses. Last October, Revenue announced an extension to the period during which debts can remain parked in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: The help-to-buy scheme was introduced in 2017 with the purpose of assisting first-time buyers with the deposit required to purchase or self-build a new house or apartment to live in as their home. The Deputy will be aware that the Finance Act 2022 extended the help-to-buy scheme for a further two years to the end of 2024. To date, the scheme has been a significant support for first-time...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I give the Deputy a commitment that I will certainly read the Committee on Budget Oversight report. I am happy to engage with him and the sector to try to make further progress on these issues within the constraints that I need to live within, recognising that copyright law that does not fall within the Department of Finance. As the Deputy knows, it is within the remit of the Department of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I am more than happy to engage with Deputy Boyd Barrett. I acknowledge he has a track record in raising these issues. From my reading of it, in preparation for this question it seems that there has been considerable progress. There has been goodwill and considerable work has been done by my predecessor and the industry to make progress. We will see if we can continue with that work and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I fully empathise with the terrible plight of those homeowners who are dealing with the devastation that mica has caused to their homes. I will do all that I can while I am in this office to help them and to support them. The Government response to the mica issue is led by my colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: To be straight with the Deputy, I have no problem whatsoever in meeting the group and I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will do the same on the insurance issues. Perhaps we can meet them together. These are genuine issues. These homeowners should not be in this situation and the banks need to adopt a supportive role when it comes to helping them because there will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Interest Rates (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy well knows, when I advocated in opposition for mortgage interest relief, it was for an extension of the relief, which was successfully secured by the then Opposition. Those are the facts and the Deputy knows that. He referred to the surplus this year, which, as he knows well, is coming from windfall corporation tax receipts, so the Government has to take that into account in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Interest Rates (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I have acknowledged the real-life impact on mortgage holders of the changes in ECB rates. The Deputy will always quote the very highest figures and the highest examples. The same Central Bank report to which he referred also points out 40% of mortgage holders are protected because they are on fixed rates. In the various scenarios it looks at, the average impact is 13% to 16%. That is not...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I am aware of the committee’s recent examination of the section 481 film tax credit, and I understand the report was published today. As I said in reply to the Deputy earlier, when I checked online in the middle of the afternoon, it was not available, but I will read it. I compliment the committee on undertaking this work. In respect of the intellectual property rights of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I acknowledge that the Deputy has been consistently raising this and related issues, and I am happy to pick up on the work my predecessor, Deputy Donohoe, did with him on these issues. The Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has met Screen Producers Ireland and visited Ardmore Studios. She will, I am sure, assist in trying to bring about a resolution to these issues. Section 481...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Interest Rates (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this issue. As I have stated previously in the House, the position is that the formulation and implementation of monetary policy in the eurozone and the setting of official interest rates is an independent matter for the ECB. The Government has neither a role in setting official interest rates nor in setting the retail interest rates that lenders may...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Anti-Terrorism Measures (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I am informed by the Central Bank of Ireland that there is no specific guidance on the transfer of funds to Cuba and that Cuba is not on the list of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force, which sets the global standards in the Anti-Money Launder/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) area, of which Ireland is a long standing member. In...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: The formulation and implementation of monetary policy is an independent matter for the European Central Bank (ECB). As the Deputy is aware, the ECB has increased official interest rates over recent months as it attempts to combat inflation. The level of official interest rates will influence the overall level of interest rates throughout the economy. However, the setting of retail lending...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I wish to acknowledge the issue raised by the Deputy regarding the difficulties experienced by some sporting organisations in obtaining insurance. As the Deputy will be aware, neither I, the Minister for Finance, nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as per the EU Solvency IIDirective insurance framework. As such, the Government faces...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Interest Rates (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: Given the broad-based nature of inflationary pressures last year, central banks have, by necessity, rapidly tightened monetary policy. Price stability is a cornerstone of macroeconomic stability. With the further ¼ point rate rise announced last Thursday, the ECB has now increased interest rates by 3¾ percentage points since July. Although necessary to avoid inflationary...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Business Supports (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) was introduced to support qualifying businesses with increases in their electricity or natural gas costs arising from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Sections 100 to 102 of the Finance Act 2022 make provision for the TBESS. The scheme provides support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Primary Medical Certificates (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 70, 95, 114 and 219 together. The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme provides relief from Vehicle Registration Tax and VAT on an adapted car, as well as an exemption from motor tax and an annual fuel grant. The Scheme is open to severely and permanently disabled persons as a driver or as a passenger and also to certain charitable...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Budget Targets (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: Economic and budgetary forecasts covering the period 2023-2026 were set out in the Stability Programme Update which was published and submitted to the European Commission and Council last month. For this year, my Department is forecasting a general government surplus of €10 billion, the equivalent of 3½ per cent of modified gross national income. For next year, the general...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: As set out in Housing Policy Objective 15.2 of Housing for All, a new residential zoned land tax to activate vacant land for residential purposes, and to replace the Vacant Site Levy, was enacted in Finance Act 2021. The tax measure will be levied at 3% of the land's market value, as indicated on maps to be prepared and published by local authorities. Certain exclusions apply. Local...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Business Supports (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) was introduced to support qualifying businesses with increases in their electricity or natural gas costs arising from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Sections 100 to 102 of the Finance Act 2022 make provision for the TBESS. The scheme provides support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1...