Results 10,841-10,860 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Banking Sector (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: This is part of the restructuring of Bank of Ireland which was agreed with the European Commission several years ago and it is the last piece of it that is now being put in place. It is not a move of a mortgage book into the unregulated sector. As Dilosk Limited has said in its website, it has confirmed that it has applied for authorisation from the Central Bank in Ireland to operate as a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Banking Sector (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The banks have not been left in private hands. They have been taken over by the State. AIB is 99% owned by the State, Bank of Ireland is 14% owned by the State and Permanent TSB is 99%-100% owned by the State. The reason building societies were taken over by the State was that they went bust and there was a need to protect the people who were doing business with them, including those who...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Yield (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: If we were to have an economic debate on this matter, there would be validity in the Deputy's points, but we must first distinguish between the private and public sectors. Whatever the economic benefits of increased pay levels in the public sector, the Exchequer cannot afford them at present. Pay reductions have been negotiated as late as last year through the Haddington Road agreement, not...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Yield (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: It is time that we commence the wider debate, and I welcome the Deputy's question for doing so. For the past five years, we have been dealing with the problems of a failed economy. It has just turned and we are beginning to deal with the problems of an economy that is growing and successful again. One such problem is wage demands and wage pressure, which are just beginning to start. We...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Corporation Tax Regime (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: Last month, the European Commission announced its intention to open formal state aid investigations into a number of companies in EU member states. This announcement was part of a much wider Commission investigation that had been ongoing for some time into tax rulings and patent boxes in different member states. I am sure the Deputy has already noted the announcement made in respect of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Corporation Tax Regime (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: They are, and no one is putting pressure on our rate. There are three issues with our corporation tax - the rate, which is 12.5%; the regime, comprising the rules and the system; and our reputation. The concern must be about the reputational issues. As the Deputy stated, ill-founded comments are frequently being made in the international media and it is difficult to chase them down and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises Debt (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am informed by the Central Bank that, in 2012, the bank wrote to each lender active in the SME market requesting they devise strategies and implementation plans for resolving SME debt by making use of longer-term solutions than had been applied to up that point. A key objective of such strategies was to recognise viable businesses and to separate...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises Debt (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: There is no doubt there has been a very significant problem with debt in the economy, including private debt, SME debt and, indeed, national debt. Plans have been put in place by the Department of Finance and the Central Bank to resolve the debt situation. What I am saying is that progress has been made, not that everything has been solved. There is no contradiction between the figures...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Yield (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: While it is possible to estimate the additional tax paid by an individual on a certain income, to do so on an aggregated basis would require a significant number of assumptions that would have to be made about incomes and specific circumstances, for example, the definition of low and middle income workers. More generally, on a static basis, I believe it is fair to say that an increase in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ireland Strategic Investment Fund Investments (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014, which is currently before Dáil Éireann, proposes the reorientation of the National Pensions Reserve Fund into the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), with a mandate to support economic growth and help foster employment in this country. The Bill provides that the Agency will monitor and keep under review...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The economic crisis exposed a large underlying mismatch between public expenditure and revenue, much of which was structural in nature and unrelated to the economic cycle.  This necessitated substantial fiscal consolidation in order to ensure that the public finances remained on a sustainable path.  Given the size of the fiscal imbalances, adjustments were needed on both the revenue...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Transactions Tax (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Government's position is that a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) would be best applied on a wide international basis to include the major financial centres to prevent the danger of activities gravitating to jurisdictions where taxes are not levied on financial transactions.  Notwithstanding this, the Government is not prepared to stand in the way of EU Member States that wish to work...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Remit (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: Credit is the lifeblood of all businesses and SMEs need to be able to access loans of greater duration, with enhanced terms and potentially at a lower cost facilitated by a state financial institution. A state promotional institution is a well established business model that is beneficial and successful in other markets. An Irish SME focused institution would promote greater competition...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Abolition (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: It is not clear from the question whether the Deputy is advocating the total abolition of tax relief on pension contributions or a change in the rate of the relief which currently applies at the taxpayer's marginal income tax rate. Either way, I have no plans to change the rate of income tax relief on pension contributions. There have been a number of significant changes in the tax relief...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Administration (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy has not provided details of the case in question, I am not in a position to address the specific circumstances and will, instead, respond in general to the matters raised. By way of general comment, the deduction at source payment option, including from Department of Social Protection (DSP) payments, is a very efficient and cost effective payment method for Local Property Tax...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Remit (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy will be aware, the Taoiseach and Chancellor Merkel last year sought, when we were exiting the EU/IMF Programme, to specifically to find ways to reinforce Ireland's economic recovery by improving funding mechanisms for the real economy, including access to finance for Irish SMEs. The German Government asked KfW, the German development bank, to work with the German and Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: European Stability Mechanism (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, the Euro-area Heads of State or Government (HoSG) agreed in June 2012 that "it is imperative to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns", and that when a Single Supervisory Mechanism, involving the ECB, is in place and operational, the European Stability Mechanism, the ESM, could recapitalize banks directly. On 10 June 2014 the euro area Member States...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Budget 2015 (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The most up-to-date budgetary estimates, published in the Stability Programme Update  (SPU) in April, are based on the assumption of a consolidation package of €2.0bn in 2015 which is designed to deliver a deficit of 2.9 per cent of GDP in 2015. This is within the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) ceiling of 3.0 per cent.  The macroeconomic forecasts underpinning the SPU have...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Stability and Growth Pact (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: There has been much commentary in recent weeks in relation to the fiscal rules governing EU Member States. While not proposing a change in the Stability and Growth Pact rules - that is,  limiting general government deficits to 3 per cent of GDP and gross public debt to 60 percent of GDP - some Member States, including France and Italy, are seeking greater...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legislative Process (3 Jul 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Department of Finance is currently preparing the Sale of Loan Books to Unregulated Third Parties Bill.  This will address concerns surrounding the continued applicability of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears after the sale of loan books to unregulated entities. Detailed engagement with the Attorney General's office and the Central Bank on draft legislation has now...