Results 11,921-11,940 of 33,214 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

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...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (14 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Hypothecation is not a feature of the Irish tax system in general. The Department of Finance is opposed to the hypothecation of Exchequer receipts as it reduces the flexibility of the Government to prioritise and allocate funds as necessary at a particular time. This constrains expenditure decisions and can distort the allocation of resources resulting in reduced value for money and...

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

Paschal Donohoe: The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is provided for in section 28 of the recently enacted Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 (The Act) and is being extended until the end of August. The underlying legislation and the TWSS itself were developed having regard to the Government objective of providing assistance to employers and employees, where businesses have...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (14 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The purpose of the Help to Buy incentive is to help first-time buyers fund their first home, which may be purchased from a builder or self-built. The incentive applies for the period from 19 July 2016 to 31 December 2021 (having recently been extended by a further two year period in Finance Act 2019). The legislative provisions for the Help to Buy incentive are set out in Section 477C of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (14 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 to provide relief for people whose income had been affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The scheme was introduced in advance of the EBA guidelines of 2 April 2020. The guidelines stated the following in paragraph 24: "The moratorium changes only the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Lending (14 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: Value Added Tax (14 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. The EU VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC) generally provides that supplies of goods and services be chargeable to VAT at the standard rate but that lower rates are permitted in very limited circumstances. There is no...

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

Paschal Donohoe: The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is an emergency measure to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. It builds on data returned to Revenue through the PAYE real-time system and as such is a fully automated solution. The automated solution, which was developed in a very short timeframe in response to the pandemic, is designed around the dates specified in the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Responsibilities (14 Jul 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to advise the Deputy that the briefing document provided by my Department to me and to the Minister of State at my Department with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance following our appointment will be published in the coming weeks. The published version will have regard to the relevant provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014.