Results 7,781-7,800 of 33,175 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: ISIF is already doing this on a national level. It has published a list of the nearly 250 fossil fuel companies it does not invest in, much of it for the reason the Deputy has just outlined in that we believe, as a country, it is appropriate we not invest in fuels and technology that can do more harm to the future of our world and national environment. It was one of the first agencies of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy's point about the need to tell people what we are doing is relevant to this debate. Much of what he is calling on me and the European Union to do is happening. I have just mentioned what ISIF has done. Only a few weeks ago, the Governor of the Central Bank wrote to all of the CEOs involved in the insurance sector about investment decisions they make, reminding them of the need...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Forestry Sector (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I know the Deputy's question relates to farmers or foresters who sell their trees for profit and whose trees have become damaged or diseased. As he said, there is a particular issue with ash dieback disease, sometimes referred to as chalara, which is of particular relevance to his question. Profits or gains from the occupation of woodland in the State, which is managed on a commercial basis...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Forestry Sector (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: However, we have acted. Ash dieback was not a regulated disease in the European Union when it was detected here and as I understand, it is still not a regulated disease in the EU. Ireland and the United Kingdom were the first countries to introduce emergency national legislation to restrict the impact and import of ash plants from other member states. The then Government acted to restrict...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Treasury Management Agency (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Ireland was one of the first countries to divest public money from fossil fuel investments. The Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018 was signed into law by the President of Ireland in December of that year.  The Act imposes certain prohibitions and restrictions with respect to the investment by the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, of assets of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fuel Prices (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy must note the starting positions of those other countries. The starting position of Spain and the Czech Republic is a standard rate of 21%. We already apply a lower rate than 21%. Our starting position compared to that of those other countries is very different. The starting position of Spain is 21% while our starting position is 13.5%. That is the difference. They have an...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I should remind the Deputy of the many different ways in which wealth is currently taxed, for example through capital gains tax, deposit interest retention tax, or DIRT, and the local property tax. Any revenue raised from a wealth tax may not therefore be additional to the existing forms of wealth taxation, as revenues from those taxes could be affected by the introduction of a wealth tax. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I noted in my reply the array and level of taxes we have on capital. Our capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax are very high in comparison to many other countries in the European Union and OECD countries. We already tax capital at a very high level. The Deputy was right in saying I acknowledged in my reply that a share of the wealth is wrapped up in property that is owned in terms...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: How many of the workers the Deputy referred to are employed by the corporations to which he also referred? Many of those corporations are very large employers employing a large share of the workers he correctly identified. We receive income tax on the salaries those corporations pay those workers. We receive tax from the investments those corporations make here. It comes back to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fuel Prices (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: My apologies to the House for keeping Members waiting. I am advised by Revenue that the VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply. The VAT directive obliges each member state to have a standard rate of VAT and allows that a member state may choose to have no more than two reduced rates of VAT which may be applied to...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fuel Prices (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I was responding to the question the Deputy provided to me in writing. He asked about a rebate or an exemption from VAT for domestic energy supplies. I answered the question that was put to me. He made reference to the Czech Republic but it is notable that out of all the members of the European Union, at the moment only two are engaged with the Commission and the Union regarding a change...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: On 8 October, Ireland was among 136 jurisdictions who joined a two pillar international agreement in October to reform the international tax rules to address the challenges of digitalisation. Pillar One of the agreement will see a reallocation of a proportion of profits to the jurisdiction of the consumer, while Pillar Two will see the adoption of a new global minimum effective tax rate of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Asset Management Agency (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: NAMA was established in December 2009 as part of the State’s response to the 2008 banking crisis with a very specific legal mandate, which was approved by the European Commission in 2010, to deal expeditiously with its acquired loan portfolio and to extract best value from that portfolio. NAMA has been successful in achieving this mandate and has now entered into the final phase of its...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware of the matter that the Deputy has raised as this has been a widely published scandal within the EU. I also note that the Deputy raised this issue last week at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach at which representatives from the Central Bank of Ireland provided some details on the topic. On the specific case mentioned by...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As I announced during my Budget speech, I am introducing a new tax credit for the digital gaming sector. Digital gaming is a sector that has seen exponential global growth in the past decade, however this growth has not been reflected in industry growth here in Ireland. Ireland has the potential to utilise the synergies with our established film and animation sectors, to support employment in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Unions (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 85, 92 and 148 together. The Programme for Government includes a number of commitments in relation to the credit union sector that the Government is progressing. The Review of the Policy Framework is now at an advanced stage. Stakeholder Engagement Since September 2020, the Department has held extensive engagement with credit union representative bodies to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 99 together. Price walking is a form of differential pricing where consumers are gradually charged higher premiums, relative to the cost of providing the service, the longer they remain with a provider. This represents a de facto loyalty penalty on long-serving customers. In the context of this specific question this is an important issue for...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 28B of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 provides for the operation of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS). It provides a subsidy to qualifying employers based on the numbers of paid and eligible employees on the employer’s payroll and charges a reduced rate of employer PRSI of 0.5% on wages paid which are eligible for the subsidy payment....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Defective Building Materials (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department maintains contact with both the Banking Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) and the insurance sector on a on going basis. While I have not met them specifically on the issue of contributions through levies or otherwise to a 100% redress scheme for homes affected by defective concrete blocks as a result of MICA and pyrite, I understand that the Minister for Housing, Local...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (9 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. The VAT Directive obliges each Member State to have a standard rate of VAT and also allows that a Member State may choose to have no more than two reduced rates of VAT which may be applied to certain goods and services i.e. any of those listed in...