Results 3,441-3,460 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I am aware that a number of sectors in the economy, including the hospitality sector, have reported having difficulties in obtaining insurance cover. As Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation.  Neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU Budget Contribution (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 156 together. Member State contributions to the EU Budget are based upon a formula which includes Traditional Own Resources (customs duties), a VAT-based payment and a residual balancing component paid in accordance with each Member State's share of EU Gross National Income (GNI). On 12 July 2016, the CSO released updated National Income and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Income Inequality (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: In its Report entitled "Employment Outlook 2016", the OECD notes that Ireland was one of the countries to experience falling wages during the crisis.  The report outlines how real hourly wages declined in Ireland during the crisis. This wage moderation also served to reduce nominal unit labour costs and as a result was key to underpinning the gains in competitiveness...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Growth Rate (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 154 and 210 together. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) last week published national income and expenditure results for 2015.  These figures indicate that real GDP grew by some 26 per cent last year.  This is significantly stronger than the previous estimate of 7.8 per cent. This substantial upward revision is largely related to the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, small and medium sized businesses, including those in the hotel and catering industry, play a central role in the sustainable recovery of the Irish economy.  To support economic recovery, Government policy is focused on ensuring that all viable SMEs have access to an appropriate supply of credit from a diverse range of bank and non-bank sources.   In...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Staff Data (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 and 159 together. The information sought by the Deputy, regarding the cost of NAMA's retention scheme, is set out in aggregate detail in NAMA's Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2015 on page 103. This is available on the NAMA website, www.nama.ie.  NAMA does not make retention payments to staff whilst they remain in its employment. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Claims Agency (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy will be aware, the NTMA is designated as the State Claims Agency (SCA) when performing the claims management and risk management functions designated to it under the National Treasury Management Acts. In answer to the Deputy's question I refer to the material provided by the State Claims Agency and which is outlined as follows. The material provided by the State Claims Agency...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Relief Costs (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 160 and 161 together. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a Pre-Budget 2017 Ready Reckoner is available on the revenue statistics webpage at www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/index.html.  In relation to the Deputy's questions, this Ready Reckoner shows a wide range of detailed information including, on Page 6, the estimated cost to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 163 to 165, inclusive, together. The provision of insurance cover is a commercial matter for insurance companies and is based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept and adequate provisioning to meet those risks.  In my role as Minister for Finance, I have responsibility for the development of the legal...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners Staff (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by Revenue that they review business and staff resource requirements in all business areas on an on-going basis as part of workforce planning.  This is an iterative process that looks to identify and address critical posts that may require to be filled in the future and to match structures and resources to strategies and emerging risks. There are currently a total of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Vehicle Corporations (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: Section 110 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 sets out a regime for the taxation of special purpose companies set up to securitise assets.  The tax provisions are intended to ring-fence the use of section 110 companies for bona-fide securitisation purposes. The features of the regime are that:- - The company must be tax resident in Ireland and carry on the business of holding...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 169 together. I am advised by Revenue that the total number of contractors, i.e. principal and sub-contractors, operating within the Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) system for the years 2005 to 2015 is as follows: YEAR RCT registrations/active contractors(principals & sub-contractors) 2015 74,795 2014 68,674 2013 62,451 2012...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Charities Regulation (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 221 together. Sections 76, 78, 207 and 208 of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997, provide for an exemption from certain taxes for bodies or trusts that are established solely for charitable purposes. Entitlement to the tax exemption is available to charities that meet the qualifying criteria regardless of whether they are in receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: General government revenue is estimated for Governement Finance Statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and is defined under the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010).  It is the wider definition of revenue that is used in the calculation of the General Government Balance. The following table details the latest figures as published by the CSO in the Government Income...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consumer Protection (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: There are a number of legal protections available to a person when their loan has been sold on to a third party. The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015 was enacted on 8 July 2015. It was introduced to fill a consumer protection gap that existed where loans were sold by the original lender to an unregulated firm. The 2015 Act introduced a regulatory regime...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by Revenue that the estimated first and full year yields to the Exchequer of tapering the Personal, PAYE and the Earned Income Credits per €1,000 of income between €100,000 and €170,000 in the manner specified by the Deputy (which would require a taper of approximately 1.43% per €1,000) and applying a 2% levy on income over €170,000...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legislative Measures (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: Where a couple is cohabiting, rather than married or in a civil partnership, each partner is treated for the purposes of income tax as a separate and unconnected individual. Because they are treated separately for tax purposes, tax credits, bands and reliefs cannot be transferred from one partner to the other. Cohabitants do not have the same legal rights and obligations as a married couple...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Vehicle Registration (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: Section 62 of the Finance Act 2014 provided for an extension of the reliefs from Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) available for electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles till 31 December 2016. The estimated cost of the exemption in 2015 was €2.7m, for 550 vehicles. A further extension of this relief is a matter for consideration in the context...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Customs and Excise Staff (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by Revenue that it currently has approximately 2,000 staff countrywide engaged on activities that are dedicated to targeting and confronting non-compliance. These activities include anti-smuggling and anti-evasion, investigation and prosecution, audit, assurance checks, anti-avoidance, returns compliance and debt collection. There are currently 860 Revenue staff serving in the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (19 Jul 2016)

Michael Noonan: While the Credit Union Act 1997 (Regulatory Requirements) Regulations 2016 introduced by the Central Bank sets a maximum individual member savings limit of €100,000, credit unions can apply to the Central Bank to retain individual members' savings in excess of this amount. The closing date for applications to the Central Bank for approval to retain individual members' savings...