Results 6,401-6,420 of 32,527 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I note that the questions refers to difficulties accessing life insurance for individuals with eating disorders. With regard to applications for life insurance, it is my understanding that generally, insurers use a combination of rating factors in making their individual decisions on whether to offer cover and what terms to apply. These can include age; health; family medical history;...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 19 of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997 sets out that tax under Schedule E shall be charged in respect of every public office or employment of profit. Section 112 of the TCA 1997 brings into charge all salaries, fees, wages, perquisites or profits whatever arising from an office or employment. Therefore, all tips, gratuities and service charges arising from an office or...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his question. Work on the credit union policy review is now at an advanced stage. Since the review began, the Department has held extensive engagement with the credit union representative bodies to seek their feedback. The Minister of State, Sean Fleming TD, has met with a wide range of credit union stakeholders to gain further insights into areas such as...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Minister Fleming, Minister of State with responsibility for credit unions, last met with the Central Bank in November. This meeting afforded him the opportunity to gain feedback on regulatory issues. Legislative or regulatory amendments alone will not solve the financial challenges arising from the low/negative interest rate environment, muted credit demand, strong savings growth, and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The 2021 Climate Action Plan and the Programme for Government set out ambitious commitments for emissions reductions. Road transport is a sector earmarked for radical decarbonisation, and motor vehicle taxation is an important policy lever in achieving these goals. A significant uptake in electric vehicles (EVs) forms a key part of targets on emissions reductions from road transport, and the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: 'Technology and innovation' is an important part of the whole-of-government strategy for the international financial services sector. This key strategy, known as the Ireland for Finance Strategy is a multi-year strategy with published annual action plans which monitor progress and highlight specific goals for the coming year. By way of background, the use of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139, 149 and 155 together. As the Deputies will be aware, the Commission issued its original proposal to amend a Council directive on the common system of value added tax as regards rates of value added tax on 18 January 2018. The compromise text agreed at ECOFIN has been amended significantly in comparison to the original proposal so the EU Parliament will...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Finance Bill introduces Part 22A into the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, which gives effect to the measure I announced on Budget day regarding the Residential Zoned Land Tax. This measure is a part of the ‘Housing for All’ Strategy published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in September 2021. The Residential Zoned Land Tax is designed to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 158 together. The retail financial services sector is undergoing a major period of change. This year we have seen a number of announcements from the main retail banks in relation to their operations in the state and their branch networks around the country. While decisions relating to the business model of regulated firms are a commercial matter...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) is designed to help reduce the cost to employers of assigning skilled individuals in their companies from abroad, to take up positions in the Irish-based operations of their employer or an associated company, thereby facilitating the creation of jobs and the development and expansion of businesses in Ireland. The scheme currently has a sunset date...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware that the affordability of insurance is an issue of concern for some businesses. However, neither I nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, nor do we have the power to direct insurance companies to provide cover to specific businesses or individuals. This position is reinforced by the EU Solvency II Directive framework. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Enhancing collaboration is rightly seen as central to the future of the credit union movement. Increased cooperation will allow credit unions to better serve their members by increasing the range of services offered. There are many recent – and positive – examples of collaboration including current accounts, investment in social housing, agri-lending, retrofit lending and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is aware that my Department issued a press release on the 5thof November 2021 which provided an update on progress in relation to the Bank of Ireland share trading plan. As of the date of the press release, proceeds generated from the share trading plan since its launch amount to c. €249m. The Government has now recovered almost €6.2bn in cash from its...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I have not had correspondence with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission regarding the operation and enforcement of section 5 of the Equal Status Acts regarding the provision and disposal of financial services. Nor have I had correspondence with either the Central Bank or the Financial Services and Pension Ombudsman in relation to the issue. The Deputy may wish to note that...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fuel Prices (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The final retail price of fuel is determined by a number of factors which include the costs of production, distribution, global market factors, international exchange rates, taxation, wholesale market contracts as well as individual retail pricing policies.  The current spike in energy prices arises principally from the global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in conjunction with...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I would encourage all consumers to shop around for financial products and services and to compare the benefits of the different products available. I would draw the Deputy’s attention to the work of Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in this regard. The CCPC is the statutory body responsible for promoting compliance with, and enforcing, competition and consumer...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Inflation Rate (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The annual rate of consumer price (HICP) inflation rose to 5.4 per cent in November – the highest rate in more than two decades. The emergence of inflationary pressures in recent months is not unique to Ireland however, with inflation hitting multi-decade highs of 6.8 and 4.9 per cent in the US and euro area respectively in November. The recent increase in inflation is partly...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Exchequer Returns (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The annual rate of consumer price (HICP) inflation rose to 5.4 per cent in November – the highest rate in over two decades. Inflationary pressures are not unique to Ireland however, with multi-decade high inflation rates of 6.8 and 4.9 per cent recorded in the US and euro area in November. However, this comes after years of inflation of around 1 per cent, with the price level in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Exchequer Returns (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: It is important to recognise that Ireland’s corporation tax rate of 12.5 per cent will remain for the vast majority of Irish businesses. The threshold that will apply to the 15 per cent minimum effective tax rate is €750 million annual global turnover. Thus, the vast majority of companies in Ireland - over 95 per cent - will not be subject to these new rules, and will continue...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) is provided for by Section 11 of the Finance Act 2020 and is available to companies, self-employed individuals and partnerships who carry on a trade or trading activities the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Case 1 of Schedule D. The trade must also be carried on from a business premises that is located in a region subject to...