Results 10,021-10,040 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Public Procurement Contracts (25 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The OGP Information Note ‘Incorporating Social Considerations into Public Procurement’ gives guidance on how public sector bodies can deliver wider social and environmental aims through their procurement processes for example, employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged groups, disability access, promoting social inclusion, or the protection of the environment and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (25 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) is an economy-wide scheme that focuses primarily on business eligibility, delivering a per-head subsidy on a flat rate basis. A subsidy of between €203 and €350 may be claimed by the employer retrospectively for every worker who is paid between €151.50 and €1,462 per week. This is different from the Temporary Wage...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Value Added Tax (25 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Retail Export Scheme enables visitors that are resident outside the EU benefit from VAT relief on goods purchased in Ireland and subsequently taken outside of the EU. Under existing rules, when the UK becomes a third country, visitors from Britain will be able to avail of the scheme. No minimum threshold currently applies in respect of expenditure on which VAT relief may be claimed. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (25 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) was announced in the Budget on 13 October 2020. The details are set out in Finance Bill 2020 and guidelines on the operation of the scheme, including the eligibility criteria, are available on the Revenue website at: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/press-office/budget-information/ 2021/crss-guidelines.pdf. The registration system for CRSS was...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry Regulation (25 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy will be aware that the Insurance Distribution Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/97), or “IDD”, establishes requirements in respect of insurance and reinsurance distribution in the EU. It aims to further enhance consumer protection and ensure a level playing field by extending the scope of the directive to include all sales of insurance products. This Directive was...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Community Banking (25 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: In December 2019, the Department of Finance published a report on the Evaluation of Concept of Community Banking in Ireland by Indecon Consultants. This followed on from the publication of a previous report by the Department of Finance on Local Public Banking in July 2018. The Indecon report looked at An Post in the context of community banking in Ireland. The report noted that An Post...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (24 Nov 2020)

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

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Primary Medical Certificates (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 259 and 268 together. The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme provides relief from VRT and VAT on the purchase and use of an adapted car, as well as an exemption from motor tax and an annual fuel grant. The cost of the scheme in 2019, excluding motor tax, was €72m. The Scheme is open to severely and permanently disabled persons as a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Employment Investment Incentive (‘EII’) is a tax relief available to encourage individual investors to provide equity risk finance to trading companies. Revenue have advised that in order to avail of EII a company must be a ‘qualifying company’. When determining if a company is a qualifying company regard must be had to both the activities of the company...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that, in the normal course of events, stamp duty is chargeable on the purchase of agricultural land at the rate of 7.5% and is payable by the purchaser of the land. The fact that the sale happens after a death does not change this position. In some circumstances an exemption from stamp duty or a reduced charge applies. However, as the Deputy hasn’t supplied...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Public Procurement Contracts (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The National Public Procurement Policy Framework 2019 issued by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) sets out the procurement procedures to be followed by government departments and state bodies under EU rules and national guidelines. In addition, the Department of Finance has its own internal policy and guidance documents to assist staff to comply with all regulations in regard to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 263, 269, 275 and 281 together. The Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) was announced in the Budget on 13 October 2020. The details are set out in Finance Bill 2020 and guidelines on the operation of the scheme, including the eligibility criteria, are available on the Revenue website: (www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/press-office/budget-information...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Primary Medical Certificates (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Disabled Drivers and Passengers scheme provides for the repayment or remission of VAT and Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), up to a certain limit, on the purchase of an adapted vehicle for the transport of a person with specific severe and permanent physical disabilities. Qualification for the scheme also provides access to the Fuel Grant Scheme and for a waiver of motor tax. In order...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Motor Insurance (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset, it is important to note that neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can direct the pricing of insurance products, as this is a commercial matter, nor can we compel any insurer operating in the Irish market to provide cover. This position is reinforced by the EU Single Market framework for insurance (the Solvency II Directive) which expressly prohibits Member States from...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legislative Process (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The following table sets out all primary legislation for which my Department was responsible, other than the annual Finance Acts, enacted or initiated since the 1/1/2017. The table sets out whether pre-legislative scrutiny occurred in respect of each piece of legislation concerned. The annual Finance Acts are not subject to the pre-legislative scrutiny process so those acts are not included...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Staff (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Article 37 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into effect on 25 May 2018 requires that where a data controller or processor is a public authority or body, they shall designate a data protection officer (Article 37 (1)(a)). The data protection officer in my Department is employed at the grade of Assistant Principal (Higher).

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Retail Sector (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Retail Export Scheme enables visitors that are resident outside the EU benefit from VAT relief on goods purchased in Ireland and subsequently taken outside of the EU. Under existing rules, when the UK becomes a third country, visitors from Britain will be able to avail of the scheme. No minimum threshold currently applies in respect of expenditure on which VAT relief may be claimed. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Wage Subsidy Scheme (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) was provided for in section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020 and was in place for 22 weeks between 26 March and 31 August. Over 66,500 employers received a subsidy under the TWSS with payments worth just under €2.9 billion paid out to over 664,000 workers. It was introduced as an emergency income...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Cycle to Work Scheme (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 118 (5G) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for the cycle to work scheme. The scheme provides an exemption from benefit-in-kind where an employer purchases a bicycle and associated safety equipment for an employee to use, in whole or in part, to travel to work. Safety equipment includes helmets, lights, bells, mirrors and locks but does not include child seats or trailers....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Wage Subsidy Scheme (24 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I assume the Deputy is referring to the statistical overview of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) published by Revenue, which is available at link: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/research/statistical-o verview-of-covid-19-twss.pdf. I am advised by Revenue that table 9 of the report shows the level of top-up payments made by TWSS recipient employers to their eligible...