Results 14,341-14,360 of 32,569 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Protected Disclosures Data (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Finance has put in place a policy with related procedures for the making of Protected Disclosures, which have been developed in line with the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014. The Department’s policy and related procedures supports my Department’s strong commitment to ensuring that the culture and working environment of the Department encourages, facilitates...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners Investigations (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 101 together. Section 1086 Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, requires Revenue to publish Lists of Tax Defaulters, within three months of the end of each quarter in which agreed settlements are reached with taxpayers, or where Penalty Determinations are made by the Courts. The List is published in two parts as follows - Part 1: Persons, where the Court has...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Competitiveness (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Overall our economy is in good shape and is expected to grow this year and next. Modified domestic demand, an underlying measure of growth in the economy, grew by 4.5 per cent for 2018 as a whole. One of the best barometers of the heath in the economy is the labour market. The strong growth in employment over the last number of years has continued into this year, with total employment...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Competitiveness (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Overall our economy is in good shape, modified domestic demand, an underlying measure of growth in the economy, increased by 4.5 per cent for 2018 as a whole. Although growth in our economy is expected to moderate over the coming years, it is still expected to compare very favourably to other EU countries. The 2019 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook recently ranked Ireland as the 2nd most...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Preparations (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106, 108 and 109 together. As the Deputy will be aware, currently taxation matters at EU level, in particular tax directives, require the unanimous agreement of all Member States before they can be adopted. Taxation is one of the areas which remains subject to the subsidiarity principle and therefore within the gift of national parliaments. This means...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Growth (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 112 together. As published in the Stability Programme Update (SPU) 2019, my Department has forecast economic growth to moderate to a more sustainable rate of 3.9 per cent in 2019, and to continue at the broadly similar pace of 3.3 per cent for 2020. Although growth rates have moderated from 2018, they still compare very favourably to other EU, and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The latest data on Retail Interest Rates published by the Central Bank (which was released on 14 June 2019) show that the average interest rate in Ireland on all new mortgages agreed in April 2019 was 3.03%. This interest rate varied considerably across countries, with the average for the euro area being 1.70%. A link to the publication is below: The European Central Bank (ECB) sets monetary...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Policy (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Finance published updated macroeconomic forecasts with the Stability Programme Update (SPU) in April. GDP is projected to expand by 3.9 per cent overall in 2019 and by 3.3 per cent in 2020. Growth at these levels ensures that Ireland is one of the fastest growing countries in Europe. Ireland’s strong economic performance has manifested itself in the labour market....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Policy (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Stability Programme Update 2019published by my Department in April, sets out the principal economic risks facing the Irish economy, along with an assessment of their relative likelihood and economic impact (see following table). The balance of risk is firmly tilted to the downside, both in the short-term and over the medium-term. The Irish economy is in an unusual position at present,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Policy (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Our economy is in good shape, following several years of economic recovery driven by the export sector, the domestic economy is now increasingly playing an important role in helping to drive growth. Modified domestic demand, a measure of underlying economic activity in the domestic economy, increased by 4.5 per cent in 2018. Despite the rapid rate of recovery, the main signs of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Housing Policy (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Following a review of Rebuilding Ireland at the end of 2017, there has been a renewed emphasis on increasing the number of social housing units through build programmes. Reflecting this renewed emphasis, an overall housing capital budget of €1.4bn was provided in Budget 2019 representing a 24% increase over the 2018 allocation. This will help deliver 10,000 new social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Project Ireland 2040 Funding (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Project Ireland 2040, which comprises the National Development Plan (NDP) 2018-2027 and the National Planning Framework (NPF), was launched by the Government on 16thFebruary 2018. The NDP seeks to reform how public investment is planned and delivered. It sets out a strategic vision for Ireland’s public capital infrastructure priorities over the next 10 years that is strictly aligned...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Protected Disclosures Data (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has protected disclosures procedures in place that have been developed in line with the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and agreed upon by the Management Board. Section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act requires that annual reports be published in relation to disclosures received by the Department. This is done via the Gov.ie website. I can...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Requests (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Freedom of Information Act 2014 is a key pillar supporting the openness, transparency and accountability of the public sector. However, as the Deputy has noted, the move towards a more user-friendly system and the abolition of fees have seen a significant increase in the number of requests. There has been a 67% increase between 2014, the last year of operation for the operation for the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Offices (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has financed one lease during the specified period. This lease is with the Technical University Dublin for learning facilities to support the Civil Service Learning and Development programme. The cost details of this lease are set out in the following table. The leasing costs to the bodies under the aegis of my Department, outside of those...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Circulars (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, Parental Leave is a statutory entitlement, and the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019 will increase the amount of unpaid parental leave for relevant parents. I understand that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, expects to sign a commencement order no later than 19 July, 2019, to give effect to the revised parental leave arrangements. Once the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Parental Leave (19 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Irish public service comprises the Civil Service, the Defence sector, the Education sector, the Justice sector, the Health sector, Local Authorities and the Non-Commercial State Agencies. Each sector is a separate and distinct employer. Each of the sectors is regulated by the relevant Minister in accordance with the relevant legislation. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (18 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Air quality is an issue of increasing social concern with a number of pollutants being linked to a range of medical conditions including strokes, cancer, lung and cardiovascular diseases. Ireland generally has better overall air quality than most countries in Europe. Nevertheless, in larger towns and cities, where prevailing winds are disrupted and harmful pollutants cannot disperse due to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (18 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply. In accordance with Irish VAT legislation, oral medicines (for human consumption) which are licensed/authorised by the Health Products Regulatory Authority are liable to VAT at the zero rate. However, non-oral medicines (products such as injections and infusions) are liable to VAT at the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (18 Jun 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset, the Deputy should note that I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation. Neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as these matters are of a commercial nature, and are determined by insurance companies based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept....