Results 11,301-11,320 of 32,602 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Lending (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I fully appreciate the concerns many people are experiencing about mortgage applications and drawdowns at this difficult time, and my Department is maintaining close contact with the Central Bank and Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) as the lending industry works to address the difficulties the Covid-19 situation is causing for both borrowers and lenders. In this context, the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Members of the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) introduced the payment break for their customers on 18 March last. These payment breaks were agreed quickly to provide substantial and rapid relief to worried and anxious borrowers, including mortgage holders, in situations where income has been directly impacted by COVID-19, and during a fast moving and evolving public...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 70 together. As the Deputy will be aware, on 10 July 2020, the President of the European Council (PEC), Charles Michel, published revised proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to run from 2021-2027 to be supplemented by a proposed temporary European recovery instrument “Next Generation EU”. The total amount being...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: On 25 March 2020, Ireland, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, and along with eight other countries (Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain) signed a public letter to the President of the European Council (PEC) Charles Michel, calling for “a common debt instrument issued by a European institution to raise funds on the market on the same basis and to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: In the Stability Programme Update (SPU), published in April this year, my Department projected that GDP would decline by 10.5 per cent this year. The central scenario underpinning the SPU projections was one in which containment measures were assumed to remain in place for approximately three months, resulting in a very sharp contraction in the latter weeks of the first quarter and most of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Aid (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Questions of policy in relation to State Aid are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The previous Government introduced the National Development Plan (NDP), committing to an investment of €116 billion for the provision of infrastructure projects. The Programme for Government commits to continuing and expanding on this investment in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Issues (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department continually monitors developments relating to the macroeconomic impact of Brexit. The Stability Programme Update (SPU) 2020, published in April, set out the economic projections for 2020 and 2021 taking account of COVID-19 and an agreed Brexit. In this scenario, GDP is projected to fall sharply, by 10.5 per cent, this year, followed by an increase of 6 per cent next year. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Interest Rates (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware that the general level of lending interest rates in Ireland are higher than is the case in many other European countries, though it should also be noted that recent trends indicate that rates have been falling month-on-month. It will be important to recognise that there are many factors which influence and determine the level of interest charged on mortgages, business and other...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Sector (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank is the competent authority in Ireland for the authorisation and supervision of credit servicing firms under Part V of the Central Bank Act 1997 (the Act). Part V of the Act was amended by the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015, introducing a regulatory regime for credit servicing firms and bringing such firms within the Central...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: As demonstrated by the recent meetings the Tánaiste and I had with the main banks, the Government will continue to work with the banking industry, including the pillar banks, to see if any there are further appropriate measures that can be deployed to ensure that the banks can prudently, sustainably and as cost effectively as possible provide new credit to businesses and households....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I have been advised by the Central Bank of Ireland (the Central Bank) that the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) forms part of the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Framework. The CCMA is a statutory Code, the provisions of which must be complied with as a matter of law by relevant firms. The CCMA provides a strong consumer protection framework, requiring relevant firms to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Competitiveness (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Irish economy experienced strong growth prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, with GDP up 5.5 per cent in year-on-year terms in 2019, with exports making a strong contribution to this. The strength of our economy prior to the onset of COVID-19, in part, reflects the important steps we have taken to improve our competitiveness. The 2019 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook recently ranked...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Policy (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department continuously identifies and monitors possible risks to the Irish economy, and has outlined many of the key challenges that our economy faces in the recent Stability Programme Update (SPU) published in April. Some of these key challenges and risks to the economy include, firstly, the risk that the slowdown in both domestic and global growth due to the impact of Covid-19...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Payments made under both the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme are income supports and share the characteristics of income. Other income earners in receipt of comparable “normal wages” are taxable on those wages. In the interest of equity, therefore, payments under the TWSS and the PUP are both subject to income tax....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Coverage (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am very much aware of the problems faced by many businesses, community groups and voluntary organisations, particularly those in the leisure and entertainment sector, in relation to the availability and affordability of public liability insurance. However, neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can direct the pricing of insurance products, and neither can we compel any insurer...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand the Deputy is referring to the proposed “Next Generation EU” recovery fund. As the Deputy will be aware, on 10th July, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, published his latest compromise proposal for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the “Next Generation EU” recovery fund, in the hope agreement can be reached at...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (15 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the stamp duty relief for transfers of land to young trained farmers. The young trained farmers stamp duty relief, which is currently due to expire on 31 December 2021, provides a full exemption from stamp duty on transfers of farm land to certain young trained farmers. Section 81AA of the Stamp Duty Consolidation Act 1999 (SDCA 1999)...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Value Added Tax (15 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The European Commission Decision C(2020)2146, adopted on 3 April 2020, provides for the importation of goods to fight the effects of COVID -19 (including personal protective equipment) from outside the European Union without the payment of VAT or Customs Duty from January 2020. Such relief is permitted where the goods are imported by or on behalf of State bodies, public bodies and other...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Lending (15 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: As you will be aware both officials and myself have engaged and will continue to engage extensively with the Banking and Payments Federation (BPFI) and the banks directly in relation to supports for personal and business customers affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Officials in my Department are alert to issues raised directly by the public and these inform the Department’s ongoing...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (14 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 275, 280, 281, 289, 294 and 307 together. The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) was introduced in March and was specifically designed to support firm viability and preserve the relationship between the employer and employee insofar as is possible through the lockdown period, in circumstances where the employer’s business had been negatively...