Results 9,301-9,320 of 33,175 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Draft Stability Programme Update: Engagement with Minister for Finance (27 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: That is a great note on which to end our exchange. Despite the challenges we are facing, Irish companies are innovating, employing people and growing. In these debates and discussions, we inevitably focus on the difficulties and areas on which we disagree. However, one of the reasons the very worst has not come to pass for our economy over the past year has been down to the resilience and...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Draft Stability Programme Update: Engagement with Minister for Finance (27 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I cannot comment on the specific case the Deputy has mentioned. We do not make the money available. That money comes through the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI. The money is not made available for free to our banks, but at a very low interest rate. However, the banks then price up on the loan they make available to companies to reflect two things. The first is the cost to...

Covid Restrictions Support Scheme Regulations and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme Regulations: Motions (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 (Covid-19: employment wage subsidy scheme) (Date Adjustment) (No. 2) Order 2021, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 8th April, 2021.

Covid Restrictions Support Scheme Regulations and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme Regulations: Motions (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputies for raising many issues with me relating to the WSS and the CRSS. I also want to acknowledge and thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for all of the work he is doing in the Department of Finance in dealing with many of the issues that have been raised by colleagues this afternoon. I want to begin by answering a number of questions that were put to me in the...

Covid Restrictions Support Scheme Regulations and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme Regulations: Motions (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (Covid Restrictions Support Scheme) (Date Adjustment) Order 2021, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 8th April, 2021. I am pleased to move two resolutions today, seeking the approval of the House for the following draft orders which provide...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers with obtaining the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The scheme gives a refund on Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in the legislation. Section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset, I am assuming that the Deputy is referring to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief under Section 604A of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997.   I am advised by Revenue that the latest available data available is for the tax year 2018, which is published on the Revenue website. Information in respect of the number of claimants and the amount of relief claimed...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Help To Buy (HTB) scheme is designed to assist first-time buyers with the deposit required to purchase or self-build a new house or apartment to live in as their home. HTB has a two main stages: the application stage and the claim stage. Compliant taxpayers who complete a HTB application are provided with an application number and a summary of the maximum relief available to them...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Regulation (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Since 2011, the Government has enacted a broad range of primary and secondary legislation to address issues that arose prior to 2008, to provide more consumer protection and to ensure greater oversight, stability and sustainability of the Irish financial services sector. The regulatory landscape has been utterly overhauled since the financial crisis, with: - the Central Bank Reform Act 2010;...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The objective of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) is to support all employment and maintain the link between the employer and employee insofar as is possible. The EWSS “turnover test” has been specifically designed so as to target the subsidy at otherwise viable employers whose businesses continue to be adversely impacted by COVID-19 by requiring a comparison of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Defective Building Materials (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: My colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is responsible for the defective concrete blocks remediation financial assistance scheme and his Department will be best place to advise on the progress of the scheme including the number of properties which have undergone full remediation. The mortgage lending policies of retail banks is a business...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I refer the Deputy to the statement I made during the Dáil second stage debate of the Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020 on 29 July 2020, and in particular the following extract: "It [the Stay and Spend scheme] will run from 1 October 2020 to 30 April 2021" In relation to the rationale for the 1 October start date, I advised the House that: "This will incentivise taxpayers...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Transport Policy (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Cycle to Work scheme is an action of my Department and Revenue that encourages people to cycle to and from work. Section 118(5G) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997) provides for this scheme. This scheme provides an exemption from benefit-in-kind where an employer purchases a bicycle and associated safety equipment for an employee. Under section 118B TCA 1997, an employer and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Pensions (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: In March 2021, the Department of Finance made a submission to the Commission on Pensions, which is available on the Department’s website.The analysis set out in the document attempts inter alia to quantify the likely budgetary costs of population ageing in order to inform the appropriate policy response. It builds on work undertaken by the Department of Finance in conjunction with...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government does not see the State as a long-term investor in the banking sector and its policy of selling down its investments in the Irish banks remains unchanged. However, given the extent of these investments, this was never going to be achieved in the short term and was always going to require a series of sell down transactions possibly spread over more than one market cycle. In...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Central Bank of Ireland (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, my Department and I engage with the Central Bank and the Governor of the Central Bank on a regular basis. Throughout these engagements my Department and the Bank discuss a wide variety of issues. This effective engagement with the Central Bank is accomplished through a mutual understanding and respect of the roles carried out by the Department and the Bank. The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy will be aware that it is the responsibility of the Regulator to set the level of capital which each bank is required to hold. These capital levels are determined within the context of a robust EU regulatory framework which is designed to ensure a safe banking system that can support the economic needs of each member state. One of the key inputs in this regard is historical...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The announcement by KBC Bank Ireland last week that it is leaving is a very significant development for the retail financial sector in Ireland, particularly as it comes so soon after NatWest’s decision to withdraw Ulster Bank from the Irish market. Firstly, I am concerned about the impact of this decision for KBC’s staff and customers.  It also raises...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (22 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government does not see the State as a long-term investor in the banking sector and its policy of selling down its investments in the Irish banks remains unchanged. However, given the extent of these investments, this was never going to be achieved in the short term and was always going to require a series of sell down transactions possibly spread over more than one market cycle. In...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Vehicle Registration Tax (21 Apr 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am informed by Revenue that Statutory Instrument (S.I.) No. 318 of 1992, Vehicle Registration and Taxation Regulations (as amended by S.I. No. 542 of 2012) prescribes the format, lettering, dimensions and technical specifications of registration plates to be displayed on vehicles in the State. It is an offence to display the wrong registration number on a vehicle or to display the...