Results 2,961-2,980 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

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

Michael McGrath: The exiting of small or accidental landlords from the private rental sector is a consequence of multiple factors, for example, the changing regulatory environment and the recent rise in house prices. It is important to note that a wide array of tax reliefs and exemptions are already available for landlords and the property sector. The combined cost of these, in tax receipts forgone, is...

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

Michael McGrath: The Debt Warehousing scheme allows for the deferral of the payment of VAT, PAYE (Employer) and certain self-assessed income tax liabilities, including TWSS and EWSS overpayments. It provided a vital liquidity support to businesses during the Covid pandemic and continues to support businesses as they recover from the impacts of the pandemic and the current energy crisis. At the end of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Universal Social Charge (USC) was designed and incorporated into the Irish taxation system in 2011 to replace two other charges, namely the Health and Income Levies. The primary purpose of the USC was to widen the tax base and to provide a steady income to the Exchequer to provide funding for public services. The Programme for Government (PfG), “Our Shared Future”, contains...

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

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy will appreciate, neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can direct the pricing or provision of insurance products, as this is a commercial matter which individual companies assess on a case-by-case basis. This position is reinforced by the EU Single Market framework for insurance (the Solvency II Directive). Nevertheless, this Government is continuing to prioritise...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Inflation Rate (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: Almost all advanced economies have faced multi-decade high rates of inflation over the past year and Ireland is no exception. Consumer price (HICP) inflation averaged just over 8 per cent last year, compared to around ½ per cent in the preceding decade. The easing of wholesale energy markets over the last number of months suggests that inflation has passed its peak and is on a...

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

Michael McGrath: Under our domestic tax rules, an individual who holds a private sector employment in the State is chargeable to tax in the State in full on the emoluments of the employment and such income is also within the scope of the PAYE system of payroll deductions at source. This treatment applies to individuals who are resident in the State for tax purposes and also to individuals who are not resident...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: Research has indicated that there is potential for existing mortgage holders to make mortgage savings by switching their mortgage. This is a particularly important consideration at a time of rising interest rates. I have met with the CEOs of the retail banks and a number of non-bank lenders where I emphasised that they should take a consumer focused approach to encourage switching where...

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

Michael McGrath: I welcome this first mid-year report of the National Claims Information Database (NCID) on private motor insurance, which contains a number of positive messages. At the outset, against the backdrop of high inflation, the report indicates that the average cost of a motor premium declined by a further 5 per cent in the first 6 months of 2022, to €578. On a quarterly basis, average earned...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fiscal Policy (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 82, 101 and 116 together. This year, a large budgetary surplus of €10 billion is projected and in the absence of any major shocks to the economy or our public finances, a large expansion of this surplus is projected for the years ahead. However, this headline position is flattered by the extraordinary rise in corporation tax receipts in recent...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I would like to thank the Deputy for her question which provides me with an opportunity to update on the progress being made by my Department in relation to the regulation of Independent ATM Deployers (IADs). Firstly I want to provide some clarity on the statement that 75% of ATMs in Ireland are now owned by organisations that are not banks. IADs currently control approximately 75%...

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

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 91, 93, 99, 109 and 111 together. The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) was introduced to support qualifying businesses with increases in their electricity or natural gas costs arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sections 100 to 102 of the Finance Act 2022 make provision for the TBESS. The scheme provides support to qualifying...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consumer Prices (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: In Ireland, inflation stood at just over 8 per cent for 2022 as a whole, significantly higher than the ½ per cent average rate of inflation recorded for the previous decade. However, it is important to bear in mind that almost every advanced economy is in a similar position, with inflation in the euro area reaching an average of just under 8½ per cent last year. At the root of this...

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

Michael McGrath: The Deputy should note that under the VAT Directive it is not possible to reduce the VAT on heat pumps to zero. However, following changes agreed last year in Annex III of the aforementioned Directive, there is scope to reduce the VAT rate in highly efficient low emissions heating systems to a reduced VAT rate. In Ireland that would mean a rate of 9% or 13.5%. However, these systems...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: The USC was designed and incorporated into the Irish taxation system in 2011 to replace two other charges, namely the Health and Income Levies. When the USC was introduced in 2011 those aged 70 years and over were not liable to the top rates of charge. However, in Budget 2013, it was decided that the reduced rates of USC for those age 70 years and over with an income in excess of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: The CSO’s early ‘flash’estimate of quarterly GDP for Ireland, released one month after the end of the relevant quarter, estimated that GDP contracted by 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter. However, there are a number of points I would like to raise. Firstly, as is widely acknowledged, GDP is not a useful measure of what is happening...

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 influences the overall level of interest rates throughout the economy. However, the setting of retail lending...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ukraine War (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: In response to Russia’s unjustified, illegal invasion of Ukraine, every European Union Member State including Ireland has been obliged to introduce a range of sanctions targeting the Russian economy. These sanctions include freezing assets prohibiting certain transactions and removing Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system. The frozen assets in question are owned or controlled...

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

Michael McGrath: I am aware of the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight’s recent examination of the section 481 film tax credit, and I understand that the report was published today. In relation to the intellectual property rights of performers, I would note that copyright law falls within the remit of the Department of the Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). Notwithstanding this, my...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (9 May 2023)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for his question. As I acknowledged to your colleague Deputy Carthy last week, credit unions in Ireland are regulated and supervised under the Credit Union Act, 1997 (the 1997 Act) and regulations issued by the Central Bank, which set out the framework for the registration, regulation and operation of credit unions including detailed governance and prudential requirements....

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

Michael McGrath: The Rent a Room scheme was introduced in Finance Act 2001 as an incentive to encourage individuals to let rooms in their principal private residence as residential accommodation in order to bring about an increase in the availability of rental accommodation. In accordance with section 216A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, an individual who lets a room or rooms in her or his sole or...