Results 8,841-8,860 of 32,527 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Insurance Industry Regulation (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government put such effort into the passage of the guidelines and gaining agreement to their implementation because of the commitment the Government has to reducing the award levels. We expect this, in turn, to have a significant effect on premiums and costs, which we accept are critical and difficult issues for many holders of private insurance policies and, in particular, employers at...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Insurance Industry Regulation (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is standing up here and one of the main things he is thinking about is how he can generate accusations about me and imply the Government is not taking this seriously. We brought in this legislation and made these changes. We welcome the fact that the Judicial Council has issued guidelines that are consistent with the Government's aim of reducing the level of awards made in our...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: It is the pandemic that is causing the harm the Deputy refers to, not the Government. We are acutely aware that the pandemic and the necessary public health measures introduced to control the spread of the virus have had a huge impact on our economy and society. Recognising this, the Government has acted decisively and on an unprecedented scale. Almost €38 billion in fiscal support...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Financial Services Regulation (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The party of which I am a member is the one which introduced, with its colleagues in government at the time, the Central Bank regulations of 2014 and there is sufficient legislation available to the Central Bank to allow it take action against individuals if it believes a case is merited. The inference of the Deputy is that legislation is not in place to allow action be taken against...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Financial Services Regulation (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: We are giving it priority. Fines have been levied against companies for unacceptable behaviour. Action has been taken, for example, by the National Treasury Management Agency in dealing with the Davy matter and it demonstrates the seriousness with which the State has taken such matters, including the behaviour I condemned and which has been the subject of very heavy fines from the Central...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, the Government has introduced a series of supports to help businesses deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. These measures are specifically targeted at supporting businesses negatively affected by the pandemic in retaining their employees on payroll and include the employment wage subsidy scheme and its predecessor, the temporary scheme. With regard to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: We are absolutely committed to the roll-out of the national broadband plan and I accept the Deputy's point that one of the very big questions undermining the ability of those who now must work from home in doing that work is the matter of broadband speed and connectivity. We are working hard to deliver that plan. Of course, the main issue we have is public health guidance that prevents some...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Financial Services Regulation (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is very well aware, the Central Bank has recently reprimanded Ulster Bank and Davy for regulatory breaches that resulted in substantial fines being issued. I wish to recognise the extensive work undertaken by the Central Bank in achieving those results. The bank already has extensive regulatory powers to investigate and impose sanctions where there are breaches of financial...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The purpose of the Stay and Spend Tax Credit scheme is to provide targeted support to businesses within the hospitality sector whose operations are likely to be most affected by continued restrictions on public health grounds. Under the relevant legislation, the scheme is due to expire at the end of next month. Since 1 October 2020, a total of 59,172 receipts have been uploaded to the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 68 together. The legislative basis for the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) is provided 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. A qualifying business...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Temporary Wage Subsidy (TWSS) was in place between 26 March and 31 August 2020 and was introduced as an emergency income support for employees of vulnerable firms whose businesses had been negatively impacted by COVID restrictions and whose turnover had reduced by at least 25% during Q2 while the strictest public health measures were in place. The support was paid via the employer so as...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Primary policy responsibility for climate change and housing lies with the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Communications and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. However, in relation to tax-based measures for retrofit projects, my officials considered such a measure in the context of a Tax Strategy Group paper in 2019. That paper was published with the Budget...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will note, there has been extensive engagement on this topic at the start of this session but I will re-state that the Central Bank already has extensive regulatory powers to investigate and impose sanctions where there are breaches of financial services legislation. The introduction of the Senior Executive Accountability Regime (SEAR), will complement these existing powers,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) payments are classified in legislation as income supports and as such are subject to income tax. The PUP reflects the standard approach to the taxation of social welfare type payments, which means it is liable to income tax but exempt from the Universal Social Charge (USC) and Pay Related Social Insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71, 113 and 386 together. This Government is committed to bringing about meaningful insurance reform, as reflected in the Programme for Government. In this regard, the Action Plan on Insurance Reform contains 66 actions across several departmental policy areas. Its implementation is overseen by a Cabinet Sub-Group on Insurance Reform, the most recent meeting...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Tax (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Programme for Government "Our Shared Future" includes a number of commitments in relation to the Local Property Tax (LPT). These are (a) To bring forward legislation for the LPT on the basis of fairness and that most homeowners will face no increase, (b) To bring new homes, which are currently exempt from the LPT, into the taxation system, and that (c) All money collected locally...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The recent announcements by Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland represent unfavourable developments for the Irish banking market. These decisions may have an impact on competition in the banking market and are a reflection of the wider challenges banking is facing, not only in Ireland but also abroad. It should also be noted that the banking sector has been strengthened in recent years...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand the Deputy is referring to the speech I made at the ESRI on Thursday 4 March 2021, "Taking stock and charting an economic path forward for Ireland & Europe” in which I addressed some of the main challenges facing the Irish economy over the short, medium, and long-terms. The Government has provided an enormous amount of fiscal support in response to the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Recovery and Resilience Facility is a €672.5bn instrument, made up of €360bn loans and €312.5bn in grants and is the key element of the Next Generation EU / Recovery Plan Package of €750bn (€360bn in loans and €390bn in grants) agreed by the European Council in July 2020. 70% of the total €312.5 billion grants from the Recovery and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fiscal Policy (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The EU’s fiscal rules have been an integral part of our own fiscal framework for a number of decades, dating back to the adoption of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in 1997. Alongside a number of reforms to these rules since their inception, the Fiscal Compact was introduced in 2013, with the aim of strengthening fiscal governance and reinforcing the SGP. The Fiscal Compact...