Results 15,181-15,200 of 32,572 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Functions (2 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 145 and 146 together. While my Department sets the capital allocations for Departments and the delegated sanction arrangements under which Departments make their spending decisions, the actual roll-out of particular capital projects and programmes is, of course, managed by the individual line Departments and their agencies who are responsible for project and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Appointments Service (2 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware the Public Appointments Service (PAS) is an independent, statutory body which provides professional recruitment and selection services to the Civil and Public Service. PAS is a demand led service which advertises campaigns on an ongoing basis for a wide variety of roles according to the requirements of its clients in the Civil and Public service.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (2 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 has as its main focus the phased unwinding of the FEMPI legislation. However, the Agreement also contains a provision committing the Parties to an appropriate, time-bound process for addressing any outstanding adjudications, having due regard to the question of their continued validity and cost implications. Agreement on a...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Communications (2 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: In relation to the services of Media Consultancy Agencies for social media purposes, I can confirm that my Department has not directly procured any such services nor drawn down any such services from the Office of Government Procurement’s Public Relations Framework.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Communications (2 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department's social media presence is managed primarily by the Department's Press Office. As such, the Press Office is sometimes asked to participate by sharing Government of Ireland campaign messages via the Department's Twitter account. A recent example of this is the ‘Getting Ireland Brexit Ready’ campaign, which is coordinated by the Department of an...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Official Languages Act (2 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department operates a Language Scheme in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003. The Scheme, which came into effect on 21 October 2015, was developed to set out a standard approach across my Department to fulfilling obligations in relation to the Irish language. I wish to advise the Deputy that the Language Scheme is currently under review...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Where a couple is cohabiting, rather than married or in a civil partnership, each partner is treated for the purposes of income tax as a separate and unconnected individual. Because they are treated separately for tax purposes, credits, tax bands and reliefs cannot be transferred from one partner to the other. Cohabitants do not have the same legal rights and obligations as a married couple...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Rebates (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that any person who pays Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) but considers the amount charged to be excessive has two appeal options. The first option consists of a re-examination of the original valuation by a Revenue official who had no previous involvement with the case. If the person is still unhappy after the re-examination has been completed, there is the option to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Hearings of the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal are held on average twice a month at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire, which has the appropriate facilities to cater for people with mobility impairing disabilities of the kind provided for under the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme. The Medical Board of Appeal holds regional clinics as demand...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Both I and the Minister of State for Financial Services and Insurance, Mr. Michael D’Arcy T.D., are very conscious of the difficulties that the cost and availability of insurance are having on many small businesses in this country, including those in the hospitality sector. As Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fiscal Policy (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Commission assesses Member States' compliance with the fiscal rules on an ex-post basis in Spring using the outturn data for the previous year. My officials prepare updates to the macroeconomic and fiscal forecast in Spring - Stability Programme Update (SPU) - and Autumn - Draft Budgetary Plan. These take into account the most up-to-date information available, including the expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Decisions on tax policy take place every year as part of the annual budgetary process. The Environmental Taxes paper prepared annually for the Tax Strategy Group contains analysis on the tax policy options and this helps inform subsequent budget decisions. As the Deputy will be aware, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action was established in 2018 to consider the third report and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 to 58, inclusive, together. The majority of hire purchase agreements, such as PCPs, are provided to consumers through credit intermediaries. Under the Consumer Credit Act 1995, credit intermediaries are authorised by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and when performing intermediary functions credit intermediaries are required to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legal Costs (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Notwithstanding that the Government profoundly disagrees with the Commission's analysis in the Apple State aid case, the full recovery of the alleged State aid from Apple has been completed with approximately €14.3 billion deposited into the Escrow Fund. The funds will remain in the Escrow Fund pending a final determination in the European Courts over the validity of the Commission's...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Central Bank of Ireland Data (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 60 and 61 together. The Central Bank of Ireland has advised that Table A.6 of the Bank’s Credit, Money and Banking Statistics includes both on-balance sheet loans for house purchase (column E) and loans for house purchase derecognised from the balance sheet of an Irish resident bank in a securitisation transaction where the servicing rights of the loan...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme Data (28 Mar 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 and is due to expire on 31 December 2019. The information sought by the Deputy in terms of numbers of recipients of support by county is not immediately available. I will provide that information to the Deputy as soon as may be. In the meantime, data on the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Repayments (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Officials in the Department of Finance have received the following reply from the Central Bank of Ireland in response to the Deputy’s question: “The Central Bank of Ireland (‘Central Bank’) is aware of the error and is engaging with Bank of Ireland. We cannot comment on the specifics of any individual firm. “Errors by regulated financial services firms...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pension Provisions (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will respond to the Deputy's question in relation to the Central Bank of Ireland, however, the Pensions Authority is under the aegis of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and therefore any related queries should be directed to my colleague Minister Regina Doherty. The Central Bank of Ireland does have a consumer protection role in respect of pension providers. For...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Central Bank of Ireland Enforcement Actions (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I have been advised by the Central Bank of Ireland that the calculation of mortgage repayments and mortgage arrears are carried out by regulated entities in line with the terms and conditions of the loan agreement and any alternative repayment arrangement agreed with the borrower respectively. The Central Bank’s Statutory Codes of Conduct, including the Consumer Protection Code 2012...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Preparations (28 Mar 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: 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. Budget 2019 provided Revenue with the funding needed for 270 of the additional 600 staff to be recruited during 2019 to manage an orderly UK withdrawal. Following the Government decision to give greater priority to the...