Results 12,661-12,680 of 32,610 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministerial Allowances (13 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The arrangements for paying mileage allowances to Ministers of State were introduced, following a government decision in 1983, to reduce the cost of providing Ministerial transport. This was achieved by allowing Ministers of State to use their own cars for official purposes and to employ civilian drivers instead of being supplied with ‘State Cars’ and Garda drivers. In 2011,...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff (13 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: My officials have reviewed records held in my Department and I can confirm no records have been found of requests seeking sanction for public servants to undertake paid work, in addition to their own salary, in each of the years 2012 to 2018. The Deputy may wish to be aware that in a number of cases, third level institutions were recompensed by various public service bodies for the time...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Redeployment (13 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 108 together. As the Deputy is aware, the Civil Service Mobility scheme which comes under the remit of my Department, and is administered through HR Shared Services, National Shared Services Office, offers an opportunity for staff members to apply for mobility through an open and transparent system. The establishment of the scheme fulfils one of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: EU Programmes (13 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, the INTERREG IIIA programme (2000-2006) was an EU co-funded cross-border cooperation programme between Ireland and Northern Ireland.  The company in question proposed a project for funding under Priority 2 Measure 3 of the INTERREG IIIA Programme in April 2003.  I understand that the project proposal was subsequently appraised and an offer of funding was...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not believe that businesses selling stoves would necessarily consider themselves to be operating "inside the fossil fuel industry". There is no carbon tax applied on wood or wood pellets and therefore consumers can purchase wood or pellet burning stoves or when purchasing multi fuel stoves can use wood or wood pellets instead of solid fuels, in both cases...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Reports (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Standing Order 164A of Dáil Eireann Standing Orders 2016 and Standing Order 168 of Seanad Eireann Standing Orders 2017 provide that "twelve months following the enactment of a Bill, save in the case of the Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill, the member of the Government or Minister of State who is officially responsible for implementation of the Act shall provide a report which...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pension Provisions (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that Chapter 2C of Part 30 of, and Schedule 23B to, the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA) provide for limits on the tax-relieved amount of an individual’s supplementary pension arrangements, including public sector pensions.  As the Deputy states, the standard fund threshold (SFT) is currently €2 million and has been set at that amount since 1...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Policy (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 120 and 121 together. I understand that the Deputy is referring to the blog article by Mr Brad Setser, which was published on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ireland is a small country and large transactions by multinational enterprises can have a disproportionate impact on our statistics when compared to the effect of transactions of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge Application (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 531AN of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997 provides for a reduced Universal Social Charge (USC) rate of 2% on all income above €12,012, where a person’s total income in a year does not exceed €60,000 and where the person is aged 70 or over or holds a full medical card. A rate of 0.5% on the first €12,012 of income applies to all taxpayers. I am...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Eligibility (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To qualify for the favourite niece/nephew relief, which only applies to assets used in a business, the person must be a child of the disponer’s brother or sister. The person must also have worked for him (the disponer) for the five years immediately before receiving the gift or inheritance, for either 15 hours per week in a small business (run by the disponer and spouse or civil...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Offices (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In response to the Deputy’s question; OPW provides accommodation for Government Services and manages a significant proportion of the State’s property portfolio. Outside of Dublin City, the Department of Finance has a staff cohort located in Government Buildings, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. There are currently 48 vacant spaces in the Department of Finance’s accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In addressing the Deputy's specific question on the tax treatment of self-employed individuals carrying on a trade (including the trade of farming), as compared to companies carrying on a trade, it should be noted that self-employed individuals or those are taxed on their profits in much the same way as companies are. An individual engaged in a trade is taxed on the net income of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Data (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Small Benefits Exemption provides that, in general, where an employer provides an employee/director with a small benefit (that is, a benefit with a value not exceeding €500), PAYE, USC and PSRI need not be applied to that benefit. This treatment does not apply to cash payments, which are taxable in full. The benefit can be used only to purchase goods or services and cannot be...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Costs (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) is available to employees of companies that are incorporated and tax resident in a country with which Ireland has a double taxation agreement or a Tax Information Exchange Agreement. Under existing legislation, the employee must have worked for the employer for a minimum of 6 months outside of Ireland immediately before being assigned to work in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Living City Initiative (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I assume that the Deputy is referring to The Living City Initiative (LCI). LCI has applied to Waterford city since its inception. LCI is a scheme of property based tax incentives aimed at the regeneration of certain 'Special Regeneration Areas' (SRAs) in the historic centres of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford. LCI was initially announced in Budget 2013 and commenced...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Compliance (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the business models and contractual arrangements in the poultry sector created the conditions for the generation of a systematic excess of flat-rate addition payments to farmers in the sector over their VAT input costs. This business model did not breach Irish VAT law at the time and did not constitute fraud or tax evasion. My predecessor introduced a provision in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Freedom of Information Data (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In line with the Department of Finance Freedom of Information Publication Scheme, my Department routinely publishes the details and outcome of Freedom of Information requests on its website, www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-finance. The most recent publication was on 4thOctober 2019, and is reflective of requests processed in Q3 2019.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Eligibility (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 473 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for a tax credit in respect of rent paid by an individual for private rented accommodation used as a sole or main residence. This includes rent paid for a flat, an apartment or a house. The tax credit is only applicable for years prior to 2018 and the qualifying criteria requires that a person was paying for private rented accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Flood Risk Insurance Cover Provision (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am conscious of the difficulties that the absence or withdrawal of flood insurance cover can cause to homeowners and businesses, and that is one of the reasons the Government has been prioritising investment in flood defences over the last number of years. However, you should be aware that provision of insurance is a commercial matter for insurance companies, which is based on a proper...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Illicit Trade in Tobacco (12 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: There is a long-standing commitment by successive Governments to use taxation along with other measures as an instrument to discourage smoking, particularly amongst younger people. This policy has been broadly successful. The Government’s Healthy Ireland strategy has set a target that 5% of the population or less would be smokers by 2025. According to HSE figures, the rate of smoking...