Results 15,101-15,120 of 32,572 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Compensation Fund (10 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Setanta Insurance ("Setanta") was placed into liquidation by the Malta Financial Services Authority on 30 April 2014.  As it was a Maltese incorporated company, the liquidation is being carried out under Maltese law. The Deputy will be aware that under the Insurance Act 1964, as amended, monies may only be paid out of the Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF), with the approval of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Regulation (10 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: It is important to keep the market for the provision of financial services under review to ensure that the level of consumer protection continues to be robust.  In this context, last summer I asked Mr. Michael Tutty to conduct a review of the PCP market and regulatory structure and his report was subsequently published by my Department in November. That report found...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (10 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: S128F of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for the Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP) which came into effect on 1 January 2018. The aim of the incentive is to support SMEs in Ireland in competing with larger enterprises to recruit and retain key employees, by way of a targetted share option programme. I am advised by Revenue that the ‘KEEP...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Employment Investment Incentive Scheme Data (10 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 59 together. With regard to the Deputy’s first question on the number of applications for tax relief certificates under the Employment and Investment Incentive scheme (EII) in each year since its creation and in each month of 2018, Revenue have provided me with the following data:  Table 1: No. of applications for EII Scheme 2012 –...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Central Bank of Ireland Reports (10 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, I am on record stating that I am committed to increasing individual accountability in the financial sector. On foot of a request I made to the Governor of the Central Bank for a review of the culture and behaviour within the retail banking sector in Ireland, the Behaviour and Culture of the Irish Retail Banks report was published in July 2018. Since...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (10 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Development Plan, published last year, demonstrates the Government’s commitment to meeting Ireland’s infrastructure and investment requirements over the next 10 years, through a total estimated investment of €116 billion over the period to 2027.  In 2019, capital expenditure of €7.3 billion represents an increase of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Retirements (10 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In my role as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have statutory responsibility for the terms and conditions of public servants only.  Employees of commercial State bodies, such as RTÉ, are not public servants.  The terms and conditions, including compulsory retirement age, of employees of commercial State bodies (other than the Chief Executive Officer), are...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Home Loan Scheme (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for the Help to Buy incentive (HTB), which came into effect on 19 July 2016. A number of conditions must be satisfied in order for an individual to be eligible to avail of the incentive. To claim HTB, you must: - be a first-time buyer; - buy or build a new property between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2019; - If you are buying the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Firstly, I must point out that the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) is independent in the performance of his statutory functions.  I have no role in the day-to-day workings of the office or in the decisions which he takes. Section 56(4) of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 provides that "The Ombudsman shall, without prejudice to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Customs and Excise Staff (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 146 and 153 together. In September 2018, the Government granted approval in principle for the phased recruitment of an additional 600 Revenue staff to meet the challenges posed by Brexit. Revenue has appointed over 470 staff from open recruitment and interdepartmental competitions since the start of 2019. The majority of these have been assigned to customs...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Charges (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand this to mean that the cost of a transaction would be notified to a customer at the time of the transaction rather than being notified to them at the end of the two or three month billing period. The European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009 (PSR) and the Consumer Protection Code 2012 contain certain requirements in relation to the information to be provided about...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Charges (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In fulfilling its statutory role under Section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act, 1995 (the Act), I understand that the Central Bank assesses each notification received from a credit institution pursuant to the Act, where they wish to introduce any new customer charge or increase any existing customer charge in respect of certain services, in accordance with the specific assessment criteria set...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Transactions Tax (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 150 together. Both questions appear to refer to the model of Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) proposed by the European Commission, initially in 2011 and then revised under the EU’s enhanced cooperation procedure in February 2013. The proposed rate on exchanges of shares was 0.1% and the proposed rate for derivative transactions was 0.01%. ...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The legislation governing the tax treatment of pensions is contained in Part 30 of, and Schedules 23 to 23C to, the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. In addition, the Revenue Pensions Manual gives general guidance on, among other things, how this legislation is to be applied. Revenue rules in relation to “Increases of Pensions in Payment” are set out in Chapter 6.8 of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rebates (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Value Added Tax (Refund of Tax) (No. 15) Order 1981 provides for payment of VAT to a “disabled person”, as defined in the Order, in respect of VAT on qualifying goods which are supplied to or imported by the person. To qualify for this payment, the disabled person must provide an invoice in respect of the goods supplied or a receipt for VAT paid on importation of those goods....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that, for tax years up to and including 2018, Regulation 27 of the Income Tax (Consolidated) Employments Regulations 2001 imposes a statutory obligation on employers to issue a P60 certificate to all employees who are in employment on 31 December in the tax year. The P60 for a tax year contains details of annual pay, tax, USC and PRSI deductions and is required to be...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that it has recently reviewed the tax affairs of the persons in question to ensure they have received their full tax credit entitlements. The review identified some underpayments of tax, which Revenue has agreed to collect over an extended number of years to minimise the financial burden on the persons. Revenue has also confirmed that it has been in direct contact...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Preparations (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I, as Minister for Finance, will focus on the latter part of the question. The joint ESRI and Department of Finance estimates of the potential macroeconomic impacts of Brexit on the Irish economy was published on 26th March. Given both the political and economic uncertainty, a range of alternative scenarios are considered. This new study finds that, compared to a no Brexit baseline, the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Retail Sector (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Article 62 of the revised EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) contains a prohibition on surcharging - the practice where a merchant charges an extra fee for receiving a payment made using a payment card. That Article provides that a payee shall not request charges for the use of a payment instrument for which interchange fees are regulated under Chapter II of the EU Interchange Fee...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rate Application (9 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, Budget 2019 increased the VAT rate from 9% to 13.5% with effect from 1 January 2019 for the majority of tourism goods and services. This was on the basis of economic analysis which indicated these goods and services were driven by income growth more than price. However, I decided to retain newspapers at the 9% VAT rate in order to assist national and...