Results 3,441-3,460 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Business Supports (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: Small and medium businesses are the foundation of the Irish economy, accounting for 99.8% of all enterprises and the majority of employment in the State. Their importance to our economy is reflected in our Programme for Government commitments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Government strongly supported small businesses. For example Revenue supported businesses by suspending normal debt...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Business Supports (7 Mar 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 over the winter months. Details of the scheme are set out in Finance Act 2022. The scheme provides support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1 September 2022 to 30 April 2023. However,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I am informed by Revenue that traders are not required to identify the VAT yield generated from the supply of specific services or supplies to particular customer groups, on their VAT returns. Therefore, Revenue does not have data from tax returns on which to base an accurate estimate of the net benefit per household arising from the reduced VAT rate of 9% applied to electricity and gas...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Business Supports (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 126, 133 and 135 together. The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) was introduced to support qualifying businesses with increases in their electricity or natural gas costs over the winter months. Details of the scheme are set out in Finance Act 2022. The scheme provides support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Business Supports (7 Mar 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 over the winter months. Details of the scheme are set out in Finance Act 2022. The scheme provides support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1 September 2022 to 30 April 2023. However,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: As indicated in my predecessor's Budget 2023 address to the House on 27 September 2022, the Help to Buy scheme has been a significant support for first time buyers of new homes. Since its inception in 2017 and to 31 January 2024, some 37,500 first-time buyers, either singly or as part of a couple, have benefited from the scheme. To reiterate the response to Parliamentary Question No. 121 of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: In 2022, the Irish economy continued to exhibit strong growth when compared to its EU and Eurozone counterparts. Irish GDP grew by 12 per cent, compared to growth rates of around 3½ per cent in the Eurozone and wider European Union. This is reflective of very strong growth in the multinational sector, where the value of goods exports produced and shipped from here increased by 26 per...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: Minister Carroll MacNeill will lead the Government's engagement with the credit union sector in relation to the Credit Union (Amendment) Bill 2022 and other credit union matters. Since Minister Carroll MacNeill was appointed to her position, she has met with the Irish League of Credit Union (ILCU), the Credit Union Manager's Association (CUMA) and the National Supervisors Forum (NSF). She...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: At the outset, it is important to note that neither the Minister of State, the Minister for Finance, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can intervene in the provision or pricing of insurance products. This position is reinforced by the EU framework for insurance (the Solvency IIDirective). Consequently, the Minister is not in a position to direct insurance companies as to how they price their...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy should note that since the UK left the EU Single Market and Customs Union, from 1 January 2021, the movement of goods from Great Britain into the EU is an importation from a third country and, in accordance with the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, such goods must be declared to Customs, and are liable to customs duty (if applicable) and VAT at import. Under the terms of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Energy Policy (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 218, 219 and 234 together. I am responding to these questions as my Department monitors actions related to the Government’s commitment to the Glasgow Statement on International Public Support for the Clean Energy Transition. My Department has not provided direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector for the years 2019...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ethics in Public Office (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: In general, issues of conflicts of interest that can arise for Oireachtas members and office holders fall under the statutory framework for Ethics, which consists of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 as amended by the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 - collectively called the ‘Ethics Acts’ and currently under the auspices of my Department. For example, the Ethics Acts...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ethics in Public Office (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: As the Deputy notes, the recently published Review of the statutory framework for Ethics made a number of recommendations on the statutory framework that broadly focus on five key themes: - A legislative framework for Ethics to be underpinned by a set of overarching integrity principles. - New specific statutory prohibitions, including on the use of insider information. - Strengthening...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Cost of Living Issues (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Government is acutely aware of the cost of living pressures facing households and businesses and has acted swiftly and frequently to help ease the burden. In advance of Budget 2023, Government provided some €3 billion in direct relief, including the first energy credit for every household, lump sum payments in respect of the fuel allowance, and a reduction in the tax levied on...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fiscal Policy (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: At the outset, I would highlight that it is not for the civil service - in this case my Department - to reduce national debt; policy is always the responsibility of Government. At the end of last year, Ireland's public debt stood at an estimated €226 billion. To put this into perspective, it is the equivalent of €44,250 for every resident of our country, a figure that is...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: 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 no role in setting official interest rates, nor in setting the retail interest rates that lenders may charge on their loans, including mortgages. That is a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (7 Mar 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 paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to certain limits. Section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 requires that applicants for the HTB scheme must be...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 227 and 236 together. In January of this year, officials from my Department compiled a ministerial briefing on a number of measures, including the temporary 9 per cent VAT rate. This briefing included an economic assessment of the measure. The material outlined the macroeconomic backdrop to any extension of the 9 per cent rate, noting that the economy...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 228 and 230 together. Section 114 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA) provides for a tax deduction in respect of expenses incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily by an individual in the performance of the duties of his or her employment. I am advised by Revenue that the flat rate expense (FRE) regime it operates is done so on an...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Primary Medical Certificates (7 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: My predecessor Minister Donohoe committed to a comprehensive review of the Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (DDS) as part of a broader review of mobility supports. In order to achieve this objective, Minister O’Gorman agreed in September 2021 that the DDS review should be incorporated into the work of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) Transport Working Group...