Results 11,861-11,880 of 33,214 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: It is precisely because I understand that so many are suffering with costs relating to crèches, paying their mortgages and worries about their income that we brought in the wage subsidy and PUP schemes. When the Deputy refers to the anxieties of citizens and taxpayers, that is what motivated me, the previous Government and this one to bring in both schemes. I am concerned about the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: That is also something that the Revenue Commissioners will want to look at but the answer I gave to the Deputy earlier is that the Revenue Commissioners will be flexible in how they implement this. He made the point, which I have often seen reported, about the concerns of those on low-incomes. While it is the case, I hope, by the scheme working that if a tax liability is generated for the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: It is due to my work, and work that was done by the banks, that the payment breaks are in place in the first place. These are 160,000 payment breaks. That means there are tens of thousands of mortgage holders availing of these breaks. I want to ensure that if this issue develops across this year, we are not in a position that any additional profit is being made from this and that these...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: What I have done to support those who are facing the kind of pressures that the Deputy is referring to includes the wage subsidy scheme, the introduction of the PUP, the support that has been made available to companies to keep them in operation to keep them trading across that period. That is the track record of this Government and the work that I have done. The payment breaks that have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Wage Subsidy Scheme (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The very reason the temporary wage subsidy scheme was introduced was to protect jobs and income. It has had a massive effect in doing that. It is possible that employers, because of the financial circumstances they are in and concerns they might have about their viability, may work with their employees in efforts to protect the future of their company and the jobs of people working in that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Wage Subsidy Scheme (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The purpose of this scheme is to protect jobs. That was the overriding objective I faced at the time that I introduced it. It is possible that companies are reducing the wages they are paying their staff because their revenue has gone down, they have lost clients and they are worried they might not be around tomorrow. That is the reality facing those who are working in those companies at...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware this is a matter of concern to many who are participating in the TWSS. Even at the very point the TWSS was launched, I and the Revenue Commissioner were at pains to make this point clear. I will answer the specific questions Deputy Doherty put to me. At the end of 2020 Revenue will have all available information for each employee who received TWSS payments. Revenue will also...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: That is a very helpful suggestion because I am aware of the concern with regard to this matter. It is worth making the point that the whole purpose of this scheme being brought in is to keep a job, and the reason the payments in respect of it need to be taxed is that most social welfare payments are, in principal, taxable. It is important to maintain fairness in how income supports that are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am being very clear that the tax relief that is probably at the source of the kind of support to which the Deputy referred was terminated in 2008. It is now gone from the tax code. There are currently no further tax exemptions available for the development of purpose-built student accommodation. It is a serious matter. The Ministers for Education and Skills and Housing, Planning and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The level of support the two Deputies are referring to involve the breadth and speed that have made such a difference in protecting our country at a time of significant risk to jobs and our public health. When claims are being made about the future of those supports, let us also acknowledge that those supports were introduced by this and the previous Governments and have saved jobs and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Credit Unions (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I will comment briefly on the question about a new Act. I am not going to give a commitment now on new legislation until I know what the legislation would be needed for and its role. However, I am open to any changes that I believe can play a positive role in supporting the role of the credit union movement in Ireland. Deputy Nash touched on two points that I accept. The first is the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Credit Unions (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. I will absolutely do my best to live up to my responsibility as Eurogroup president and to fulfil the mandate I have been given. Deputy O'Sullivan put a question to me. I hope in the coming days to receive a report that will consider several of the issues the Deputy has touched upon. The Deputy asked about the relationship between the regulator...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Credit Unions (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Decisions on any individual products, such as the product Deputy O'Sullivan has referred to, are a matter for the regulator and the Central Bank. I am aware of work that the credit union movement is doing on this and on several other exciting ideas. I will find out the status of that product and I will report back to Deputy O'Sullivan on it.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I should make clear to the House that the issue Deputy Naughten has raised is frequently raised with me in my constituency and elsewhere. Currently, there are no tax incentive measures specifically targeted at the providers of student accommodation. Section 50 of the Finance Act 1999 provided for a student accommodation scheme whereby expenditure incurred on student rental accommodation...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Corporation Tax (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I will use my role as the Minister for Finance for Ireland to pursue what I believe are longstanding clear matters for our national interest. That is what I have done in recent years and it is what I will continue to do. I will respond at another point to the ruling concerning anti-money laundering, but in the brief answers I have given to the Deputy, I have pointed to that vast amount of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mortgage Lending (16 Jul 2020)

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

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mortgage Lending (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand the concerns of Deputy McAuliffe's constituents, Derek and Sandra. I want to be in a position to ensure that if a loan is made available to Derek and Sandra, they will always be in a position to be able to repay that loan without facing additional financial hardship or difficulty. We are all aware of the huge stress and anxiety that can also be caused by the development of debt...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mortgage Lending (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I completely understand the issue that Deputy has raised. I again recognise the concern that many people have who have not seen their incomes change. The Deputy made a crucial point about citizens moving on to the income support wage subsidy scheme. In many cases, their income has not changed, which is one of the reasons we brought in the scheme. Even though the income has not changed, I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Credit Unions (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 7 and 67 together. The Government recognises the key role that credit unions play in the delivery of financial services to local communities across Ireland, the need for which is now heightened. Credit unions account for approximately one third of the consumer credit market and are well positioned to provide credit...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apple Escrow Account (16 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: What I want is to have the tax revenue available to pay for public services and to, for example, generate a huge income subsidy support plan over a matter of days that played a role in hundreds of thousands of jobs being retained. I want to have the tax revenue to allow us to bring in payments like the pandemic unemployment payment. My interest is in having the tax revenue to deliver the...