Results 11,501-11,520 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 178 and 185 together. As the Deputy is aware, as part of the 2011 recapitalisation exercise, the Government imposed SME lending targets on AIB and Bank of Ireland for the three calendar years, 2011 to 2013. Each bank was required to sanction lending of at least €3 billion in 2011, €3.5 billion last year and €4 billion in 2013 for new or...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Government's Medium-term Economic Strategy (MTES) provides an overarching high-level integrated whole-of-Government framework to drive and facilitate the development of appropriate sectoral and horizontal policies which will be refined to take account of the MTES.  Monitoring / implementation arrangements for the MTES are under consideration at present.  This year we have begun...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Charges (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Programme Documents (the Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality and the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies) agreed following the 10th Review of the EU-IMF Programme of Financial Support include a commitment to carry out an assessment of banks' fee income by end-December 2013 as follows: The authorities will assess banks' fee income...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: House Prices (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: My Department continues to monitor developments in the property and construction sectors to ensure that the property market makes an appropriate contribution to wider economic performance.  When assessing the recent pick-up in house prices it is important to remember that residential property prices fell by just over 50 per cent from peak-to-trough and residential property prices...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: Provisional figures show that GDP fell slightly last year as inter alia headwinds associated with patent-expiry in the pharma-chem sector depressed output and exports.  By contrast, domestic demand stabilised and returned to growth in the second half of the year.  The recovery in domestic demand helps explain the very strong labour market performance last year where employment...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Arrears Report Implementation (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: The fair resolution of the mortgage arrears problem is a key priority for Government and a comprehensive strategy, in line with the main recommendations of the 2011 Keane Report, has been developed.  The implementation of this strategy is overseen at Government level by a special sub-committee which is chaired by the Taoiseach and at official level by a mortgage arrears steering group...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Regulation (27 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: As Minister for Finance, I have responsibility for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation, including banking and insurance. The day to day responsibility for the supervision of financial institutions is a matter for the Central Bank which is statutorily independent in the exercise of its regulatory functions. I have been advised by the Central Bank that...

Seanad: Central Bank Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I thank all Senators for their contributions and I will take on board the points made between now and the debate on Committee Stage. This is a very simple Bill that makes provision for transfers of the ICS Building Society to Bank of Ireland under Part 3 of the Central Bank Act 1971. The transfers are to licensed banks and, because licensed banks are fully regulated, it does not empower...

Seanad: Central Bank Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: We have debated the general point about protocols that apply to licensed entities, as set out by the Central Bank, being applicable to funds that purchase mortgages. With the disposal of the IBRC book, a number of private funds purchased mortgage books and agreed voluntarily to comply with the protocols as set down by the Central Bank. In different disposals, two mortgage books were sold...

Seanad: Central Bank Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Seanad for agreeing to discuss the Central Bank Bill 2014 today. There are two purposes to this legislation. The first is to extend the current Central Bank legislation which allows for the transfer of assets and liabilities between holders who have banking licences to permit the transfer of assets and liabilities from a building society to the holder of a banking licence....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Availability (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I do not envisage that tax relief would be available on water charges.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Black Economy (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: This Government is committed to reducing the amount of activity in the shadow economy, particularly in the construction sector. As the Deputy is aware, I introduced the Home Renovation Incentive in Finance Act (No 2) 2013. It provides for tax relief for property owners by way of an income tax credit at 13.5% of qualifying expenditure on repair, renovation or improvement works....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry Regulation (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: Setanta Insurance Company Limited ("Setanta") is a Maltese incorporated company which was both authorised and prudentially supervised by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). While its financial position is not supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland, the firm is supervised by the Central Bank for conduct of business rules, i.e. consumer protection obligations.  The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Collection (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by Revenue that the person to whom the Deputy refers is fully compliant with her Local Property Tax (LPT) obligations for both 2013 and 2014. However the records that Revenue received from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) in respect of the Household Charge (HHC) indicated that the original €100 liability was not paid. The correspondence that issued to the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: As you are aware the One-Parent Family Tax Credit (OPFTC) has been replaced with a new Single Person Child Carer Credit from 1 January 2014.  The restructured credit is of the same value i.e. €1,650 per annum as the one-parent family tax credit and also includes the same entitlement to the additional €4,000 extended standard rate band, which increases it to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Application (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) is the overall title for both Gift and Inheritance Tax. The tax is charged on the amount gifted to, or inherited by, the beneficiary of the gift or inheritance. I assume the Deputy is referring to the "Group thresholds" for CAT. For the purposes of CAT, the relationship between the person who provides the gift or inheritance (i.e. the disponer) and the person...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the yield from Inheritance tax for the years in question is as set out in the following table. Year Inheritance Tax Yield €m 2009 202 2010 186 2011 214 2012 254 2013 258

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Rebates (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware, changes were made to the scheme of tax relief for donations to approved bodies in Finance Act 2013 as follows: - Donations from all individual donors under the scheme are treated in the same manner, with the tax relief in all cases being repaid to the charity. - A blended rate of relief of 31% applies to all taxpayers regardless of their marginal tax rate. All...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Maternity Benefit (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: It is a general principle of taxation that, as far as possible, income from all sources should be subject to taxation. In line with this principle, the majority of social welfare payments are reckonable as income for tax purposes. These include long-term payments such as Disablement Benefit, the State Pension, Widows, Invalidity and Blind Pensions, Carers Allowance and the One Parent Family...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Travel (15 May 2014)

Michael Noonan: As I have outlined in previous Parliamentary Questions, I attended the Bilderberg meeting in Westfield Marriot, Chantilly, Virginia, USA, from 1 to 3 June 2012.  I, like a number of my European colleagues (both Ministers and EU Commissioners), was invited to attend given my position as Minister for Finance.  I travelled alone and the total cost associated with my travel and...