Results 6,001-6,020 of 33,118 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) is provided for in section 28B of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020, as amended and is an economy-wide support. It has played a central role in supporting businesses, encouraging employment and helping to maintain the link between employers and employees since July 2020. The EWSS provides a subsidy to qualifying...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Insurance reform is a key priority for this Government. The Cabinet Committee Sub-Group on Insurance Reform was established to prioritise this issue, and published the Action Plan for Insurance Reformin December 2020. The Sub-Group is overseeing the implementation of this reform agenda, and meets regularly in this regard. The Action Plansets out 66 actions to protect consumers and improve the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Commissions of Investigation (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to inform the Deputy that there are currently no commissions of investigation under my Department. My Department is a stakeholder in two commissions of investigation, however these are set up under the Department of the Taoiseach.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Asset Management Agency (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: NAMA have advised that they are currently compiling this information, however as the PQ requests data spanning NAMA's lifetime, NAMA are not in a position to finalise this within the given timeframe. As a result, I will provide this information directly to the Deputy once it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: The withdrawal of KBC and Ulster Bank is a challenge facing consumers and SMEs as they need to switch their current and other accounts to new providers. It is important that the Irish banking sector rises to this challenge. All stakeholders in this process must play their part in ensuring it is carried out successfully, with minimal disruption for all impacted customers. My priority is to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Customs and Excise (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Revenue, as Ireland’s Tax and Customs administration, is responsible for managing the importation and exportation of goods in accordance with the Union Customs Code and relevant national legislation and this includes goods being imported through the postal system. Customs controls are necessary to protect public health, to ensure food safety and product standards and to protect EU...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Inflation Rate (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 169 to 171, inclusive, and 174 together. Inflation picked up sharply over the course of the last year and in March stood at 6.9 per cent. Almost every advanced country in the world is in the same position, with inflation rates of 8, 7 and 7.4 per cent recorded in the US, UK and euro area respectively in March. The rise in wholesale energy prices is...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 172 and 178 together. At the beginning of this year, the fading impact from the pandemic alongside the strong recovery in the labour market pointed to robust growth in Irish economy this year. However the onset of the war in Ukraine fundamentally altered the economic outlook, representing a large supply-side shock to the global economy.  While the war...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: House Prices (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department continues to monitor all aspects of the property market, including the rate of property price inflation, on an ongoing basis. According to the most recent figures released by the Central Statistics Office, the National Residential Property Price Index increased by 15.3 per cent in the twelve months to February 2022. Many of the factors explaining the current high...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: House Prices (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: According to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), real estate companies account for a relatively small proportion of housing transactions. In 2020, the latest year for which data is available, such firms purchased 2.8 per cent of all transacted units. While the number of transactions from such investors has likely increased since then, it is unlikely they capture enough share of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: House Prices (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Through the implementation of the Housing for All strategy, the Government plans to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This is an ambitious plan which will provide increased housing supply and affordability. While the plan is backed by unprecedented State investment, the Government cannot deliver on this programme alone....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Cost of Living Issues (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Inflation picked up sharply over the course of the last year and in March stood at 6.9 per cent. Almost every advanced country in the world is in the same position, with euro area inflation reaching a record 7.4 per cent in March. The rise in wholesale energy prices is the key contributor and reflects the rapid rebound in global demand and, more recently, the war in Ukraine. Looking...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: On 8 October 2021, Ireland, along with 136 jurisdictions, signed up to a two-pillar International agreement at the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. Pillar One will see a reallocation of 25% of residual profits to the jurisdiction of the consumer. The scope is confined to multinational groups with turnover in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, for the purposes of capital acquisitions tax (“CAT”), the relationship between the person who provides a gift or inheritance (“the disponer”) and the person who receives it (“the beneficiary”) determines the tax-free threshold (“Group Threshold”) below which CAT does not arise. Any prior gift or inheritance...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Officials in my Department are currently reviewing the options now available to Ireland in setting VAT rates. This will include consideration of the new options available to Member States  as a result of the recently updated EU VAT rules when setting VAT rates as well as the new limitations introduced on how reduced rates may be applied. Decisions about tax changes are generally...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: While, under EU law, neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, I can assure the Deputy that this Government is committed to improving the cost and availability of insurance for all consumers, businesses and community groups. This includes niche sectors such as buildings with thatched roofs.  The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I note that the details supplied relate to the cost of Employers’ Liability insurance for an SME, and the Government’s insurance reform agenda. As the Deputy will appreciate, I am unable to comment on individual cases. Moreover, 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...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: While it is regrettable that Ulster Bank and KBC have decided to exit the Irish market, as Minister for Finance, I have no role in the operational matters of any bank in the State. Decisions in this regard are the sole responsibility of the board and management of the banks, which must be run on an independent and commercial basis. The withdrawal of KBC and Ulster Bank is a challenge...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 185 and 186 together. The Incapacitated Child Tax Credit (ICTC) is provided for in section 465 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997) and is available to any individual who proves that he or she has living, at any time during a year of assessment, a child who: - if under the age of 18, is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (28 Apr 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware that the general level of new lending interest rates in Ireland is higher than is the case in many other European countries.  The most recent data published by the Central Bank on this issue indicates that, at end February 2022, the weighted average interest rate on new Irish mortgages was 2.76% compared to an average of 1.36% for the euro area.  However, the...