Results 8,941-8,960 of 32,527 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Issues (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The trading environment between Ireland and Great Britain changed irrevocably on 1 January with customs and SPS formalities now an integral part of trade with Great Britain. The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland means that no new procedures apply to goods moving between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Government and State Agencies have been providing, and continue to provide, a...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I assume the Deputy is referring to how receipts in 2020 performed compared to expectations at the outset of that year, rather than 2019. In January of 2020, my Department published a high-level update to its economic fiscal and forecasts in the Medium Term Fiscal Strategy. At that stage, tax revenues for 2020 were estimated at €63.5 billion, which would have represented growth of 7...

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

Paschal Donohoe: Corporation tax receipts demonstrated strong growth in 2020 despite Covid-19, increasing by almost €950 million to reach €11.3 billion, the highest level on record. This, and a resilience in income tax receipts, boosted the fiscal position and prevented a more severe deterioration in the public finances. These receipts are welcome, and a reflection of the success of our...

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

Paschal Donohoe: Last year the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) announced a coordinated approach by their member banks and other lenders to help their customers who were economically impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. The measures included flexible loan repayment arrangements where needed, including loan payment breaks initially for a period up to three months and then...

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

Paschal Donohoe: Where e-workers incur certain extra expenditure in the performance of their duties of employment remotely or from home, such as additional heating and electricity costs, there is a Revenue administrative practice in place that allows an employer to make payments up to €3.20 per day to such employees, subject to certain conditions, without deducting PAYE, PRSI, or USC. Revenue have...

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

Paschal Donohoe: The end-year Exchequer returns show an Exchequer deficit of €12.3 billion was recorded in 2020 - a deterioration of almost €13 billion on the surplus of €647 million recorded in 2019. An Exchequerdeficit of this level is consistent with a general governmentdeficit of c. €19 billion, or around 5 ½ per cent of GDP. The year-on-year deterioration in the public...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Issues (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department has been to the fore in producing number of assessments on the economic impact of Brexit. Research commenced before the Brexit vote in 2016, and continued following the referendum with analysis on the overall macroeconomic impact, as well as analysis at a sectoral level. Joint analyses by my Department and the Economic Social Research Institute (ESRI) modelling the...

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

Paschal Donohoe: The Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) is a targeted support for businesses significantly impacted by restrictions introduced by the Government under public health regulations to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The scheme supplements other Covid-related supports such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS). The support is...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU Budget Contribution (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland has been a net contributor to the EU Budget since 2014, and since then, this position has grown further. In 2020, Ireland contributed €2.6 billion to the EU Budget. Data on actual EU Budget receipts are published annually in my Department’s Budgetary Statistics each Autumn for the previous year – 2020 receipt data will be published in...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I would like to assure the Deputy that the EWSS is sufficiently flexible to take account of the changes to the economic conditions that have arisen from the additional public health restrictions. The EWSS is an economy-wide scheme that focuses primarily on business eligibility, delivering a per-head subsidy on a flat rate basis to the employer. The EWSS “turnover test”...

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

Paschal Donohoe: Almost €38 billion in fiscal support has been provided by Government to households, businesses and our health service. This is an extraordinary level of budgetary support, representing almost a fifth of national income. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment has supported those who have lost their jobs as a result of this pandemic, with a cost of over €6.5 billion to-date. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Issues (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: It is not possible to give a definitive assessment of the impact of Brexit on Euro denominated share trading based on the data available from just the first quarter of 2021, as the lasting impact of Brexit on Euro denominated share trading is only likely to reveal itself over a longer time period. However, I am aware of reports of significant outflows of Euro-denominated share trading...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act of 1997 provides for The Help to Buy scheme (HTB). HTB was initially announced on 19 July 2016 as part of the ‘Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness’. An increase in the supply of new housing is fundamental to resolving the current housing crisis. One of the main aims of the policy underpinning the design of...

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

Paschal Donohoe: On the 2nd April 2020 the European Banking Authority (EBA) published guidelines on legislative and non-legislative moratoria on loan repayments. These guidelines provided regulatory flexibility to banks who offered borrowers a temporary payment break due to COVID-19. These guidelines were originally applicable until 30 June 2020 and their application was subsequently extended by the EBA until...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU Agreements (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, earlier this month the European Commission published a Communication on the fiscal policy response to the pandemic. This Communication provides valuable guidance to Member States on the conduct of fiscal policy in the period ahead, including in relation to the application of the General Escape Clause of the Stability and Growth Pact. In this Communication,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Regulation (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code 2012 (the Code) is a statutory Code issued pursuant to Section 117 of the Central Bank Act 1989. The Central Bank has the power to administer sanctions for a contravention of the Code under Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act 1942. The provisions of the Code are binding on regulated entities and must, at all times, be complied with by...

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

Paschal Donohoe: The CRSS is a targeted support for businesses significantly impacted by restrictions introduced by the Government under public health regulations to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The support is available to companies, self-employed individuals and partnerships who carry on a trade or trading activities, the profits from which are chargeable to tax under Case I of Schedule D,...

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

Paschal Donohoe: 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 create a tax neutral regime for bona-fide securitisation and structured finance purposes. The section 110 regime enables noteholders to invest through one structured vehicle, without giving rise to an additional layer...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Proposed Legislation (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The introduction of SEAR is a commitment of the Programme for Government which seeks to improve the culture of the financial sector and underpin public trust in the financial services sector. It was first proposed by the Central Bank of Ireland in its 2018 report, Behaviour and Culture in the Irish Retail Banks, which was prepared at my request. This is a complex piece of legislation and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (31 Mar 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware that the general level of interest rates on new mortgage lending in Ireland are higher than is the case in many other European countries, though it should also be noted that recent trends indicate that certain mortgage rates have been falling. For example, the interest rates on new fixed rate mortgages (excluding renegotiations) have fallen from 4.11% in December 2014 to 2.65% in...