Results 12,121-12,140 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Written Answers — Departmental Capital Programmes: Departmental Capital Programmes (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 167 together. The Multi-Annual Capital Investment Framework was announced by my predecessor in Budget 2004 and the capital carryover mechanism was provided for in the 2004 Finance Act. The Multi-Annual Capital Envelopes were set out in the subsequent Budgets, and a revised capital envelope framework was published in tandem with the National Development...

Written Answers — Departmental Offices: Departmental Offices (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 168, 177 and 178 together. The following table contains the details of the opening hours for public offices and telephone lines in respect of my Department and the agencies and state bodies associated with my Department. A formal study has not been carried out into the opening hours of public offices under the remit of my Department. In relation to my...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: Information is not collected in such a way as to show a breakdown of public expenditure by county.

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 to 175, inclusive, together. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the exact information sought for all taxes on a county basis is not available. Revenue Sheriffs, County Registrars or their officers operate for the purposes of enforcement of tax debt within certain geographical boundaries known as a "bailiwick" which equates geographically with...

Written Answers — Departmental Correspondence: Departmental Correspondence (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: In response to the Deputy's question the following are details of the forms issued by my Department for use by the public and business which can and cannot be completed on line. The facility to complete forms online is determined by the requirements and nature of the form. On the Department's website www.finance.gov.ie , there are two forms that can be completed online dealing with customer...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: Home care packages deliver a wide range of services and may vary according to the care needs of the person so that, for example, there might be a greater emphasis in some packages on home care assistants while other packages may require a greater level of therapy and nursing. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, in the context of care for elderly or ill individuals, the question...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the taxpayer in question filed a self-assessed CGT return in respect of the tax year 2005 and duly paid the resulting liability. Specific information relating to the disposal was not supplied at the time. Retirement Relief is available for CGT purposes on disposals of business assets/part of the business assets and full relief is available...

Written Answers — Ministerial Expenses: Ministerial Expenses (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: A list of out-of-pocket expenses payable to Oireachtas Members and Officeholders is set out below. The rates supplied are the rates that applied in 2002 and there have been no increases in the rates to date. Also set out below are the mileage rates payable to Oireachtas Members and Ministers of State for the years 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. There was no increase in the mileage rates in...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: The 2003 EU Energy Tax Directive incorporated special derogations which allowed specific excise duty reliefs to be applied in a number of Member States. In the Irish context, these derogations allowed for reduced rates to apply to fuel used for public transport services which includes school transport services. While these derogations expired on 31 December 2006, Ireland, along with other...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: Section 473 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for relief from income tax for an individual who pays rent in respect of a tenancy of a residential premises which is his/her main residence. The definition of "tenancy" in the tax legislation excludes tenancies in respect of which the person beneficially entitled to the rent is "a housing authority for the purposes of the Housing Act...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: Stamp Duty is not chargeable on inheritances of property. The Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) code includes group thresholds, below which no CAT is liable. The indexed group thresholds applying to an inheritance by a grandchild for 2007 is €49,682 (Group B). However, in the case of a minor child of a deceased child (under 18 years on the date of the inheritance), a higher threshold of...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy is referring to the re-introduction of Capital Gains Tax roll-over relief. It was announced in the 2003 Budget that no roll-over relief would be allowed for any purpose on gains arising from disposals on or after 4 December 2002. This relief was introduced when CGT rates were much higher than the current levels of 20%. The abolition of this relief was in accordance with the...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. Under the VAT Directive, Member States may retain the zero rates on goods and services, which have been in place since 1 January 1991, but cannot extend the zero rate to other goods and services. It is therefore not possible under EU law to apply a zero VAT rate to the...

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they record information on registrations by reference to their published customer service standard which aims to see 100% of cases registered for these business taxes within five working days of application. The actual performance for the first ten months of this year is as follows: Tax Registration Average registered within 5 days % TR1...

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: It is assumed that the Deputy is referring to Corporation Tax paid in Ireland by Irish-owned companies and foreign-owned companies. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that statistics identifying the amount of Corporation Tax paid by foreign-owned companies are not separately available. The total Exchequer yield from corporation tax in each of the years requested by the Deputy is as...

Written Answers — Departmental Records: Departmental Records (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: My Department disposes of redundant information technology equipment by using services provided by a recycling company that specialises in the safe disposal of this type of equipment. Furthermore, it is the policy of my Department to remove all storage devices from the equipment prior to disposal. The data on these devices is wiped by the IT Unit staff prior to the shredding of the devices...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: I will set out the position in relation to my Department and the Offices for which I have direct responsibility which have posts designated as Press Officers. In other cases, contact with the media is normally dealt with by staff in general service grades or staff in the relevant area of the organisation concerned. The answer does not cover the NTMA or Central Bank which are responsible for...

Written Answers — Departmental Websites: Departmental Websites (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: Podcasts are not available for download by members of the public on websites maintained by my Department and its agencies. However, as with all new technologies, the communications potential of podcasts is being kept under review. In particular, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners examined this and similar technology as part of a continuous review of communications tools in order to...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: As part of an Office of Public Works initiative, my Department will undertake an energy awareness campaign early in 2008 which will include raising awareness among staff of the need to conserve energy, identification of possible improvements in heating systems, and an energy audit. To facilitate the monitoring of the effectiveness of the campaign, monitoring software has been installed in...

Written Answers — Public Service Pay: Public Service Pay (4 Dec 2007)

Brian Cowen: The tables that follows this reply list the pay rates in place in 2000 and all subsequent pay increases — those arising from national wage agreements, recommendations of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector and recommendations of the Benchmarking Body — for the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, Ministers and Ministers of State. Report No. 40 of the Review Body on Higher...