Results 16,081-16,100 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Children's Hospital Expenditure (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The “National Surplus (Exceptional Contingencies) Reserve Fund” which is also referred to as the Rainy Day Fund, is intended to be an economic buffer available for drawdown in the event of a sharp economic downturn. It is intended to allow the Government of the day to mitigate the effects of such a downturn. The aim in establishing the Fund is that in the event of a future...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council Reports (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I can confirm for the Deputy that my formal response to the November 2018 Fiscal Assessment Report (FAR) issued to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council on 23rd January 2019. In keeping with established practice, a copy of the response was also published on my Department’s website. Given its independent nature, I do not as a matter of course hold formal meetings with the Council. However,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Carbon Tax Implementation (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 24 and 46 together. Decisions in relation to the carbon tax take place as part of the annual budgetary process. The Energy and Environmental Taxes paper prepared annually for the Tax Strategy Group contains analysis on the carbon tax to help inform budget decisions. The Tax Strategy Group papers are available to read on the Department of Finance website. The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Collection (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the total amount of tax debt at 31 January 2019 is €4,318m. However, this figure includes €3,235m of debt that is under appeal with the Tax Appeals Commission and €114m of Insolvency Debt, which is not available to Revenue to collect. The remaining €969m is regarded as a more accurate indicator of actual debt that is available to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy will be aware that the administration of the tax code is exclusively a matter for Revenue. Section 101 Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2011 specifically provides that the Revenue Commissioners are independent in the performance of their functions under, or for the purposes of, tax laws. Consequently, I am precluded from giving any direction or instruction to Revenue in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy may be aware, section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides that the Help to Buy incentive (HTB) will expire on 31 December 2019. As of 31 January 2019, Revenue received 23,517 applications for HTB and 10,618 claims had been made, of which 10,107 had been approved. The total estimated cost to the Exchequer of these verified claims is €147 million, of which...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Data (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department continues to monitor developments in the property market, including trends in prices and rents, on an ongoing basis. The Department uses many different sources to analyse the market, including its own research and analysis. In relation to affordability, the most recent and comprehensive work in this area was carried out by the ESRI in cooperation with the Department of Housing,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Land Development Agency (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I can confirm that, following a request from the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government last June, the NTMA agreed to the secondment of three staff members to the LDA on a temporary basis to assist with the establishment of that Agency. Neither I nor the Department of Finance have had any further discussions with any of the parties listed in relation to any further secondments of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rate Application (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply. In general, the VAT Directive provides that all goods and services must be charged to VAT at the standard rate unless they fall within particular categories of goods and services specified in the VAT Directive. VAT rating is determined on the basis of particular goods and services, not by...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Transactions (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised that Section 172(3) of the NAMA Act is a legal provision preventing any interest in property held as security for loans acquired by NAMA from being sold back to defaulting debtors, or persons acting on behalf of defaulting debtors. NAMA has a policy of obtaining written confirmation from purchasers of NAMA-secured assets confirming that they are in compliance with Section 172(3)...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Data (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank has advised my Department that it was notified by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority ("Danish FSA") on 7 March 2018 that it (Danish FSA) had ordered Alpha Insurance A/S (“Alpha”) to cease writing new business including renewal of existing contracts and business with immediate effect. The Central Bank was further notified on 9 May 2018 by the Danish FSA...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Availability (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy will be aware that a range of measures have been introduced or extended in recent years to support small businesses, both small incorporated businesses and individuals established in sole trades or partnerships. These include measures such as: the introduction of, and subsequent increases to, the Earned Income Credit; the Start Up Refunds for Entrepreneurs (SURE) scheme; the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Budget 2019 (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Government policy is to keep the tax and revenue base broad, while reducing the rate of tax on work and some other activities to achieve specific social and economic objectives, such as full employment, more housing and urban and rural regeneration. This is set out in the Government Programme. In September last year, at an event organised by IBEC, I indicated that looking beyond Budget...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Competitiveness (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 67 together. Improvements in Ireland’s competitiveness have been central to the recovery in the Irish economy. Since 2008, the Central Bank’s real harmonised competitiveness indicator has improved by approximately 21 per cent. The restoration of competitiveness has been hard-won through improvements in productivity, along with...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 48 and 62 together. At the outset I wish to emphasise that I am very aware of the financial strain which the cost of insurance is placing upon businesses, and on some sectors in particular. As part of the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s (CIWG) formal consultation process, there was engagement between the CIWG and representatives from different...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The most recent Progress Updatein respect of the Cost of Insurance Working Group project, published last November, shows that of the total number of 78 separate relevant deadlines within the Action Plans of the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance and theReport on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insuranceup to the end of Q3 2018, 63 relate to actions which have been completed. It...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Regulation (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: "Shadow banking" is a term used to describe bank-like activities that take place outside the traditional banking sector. It is also commonly referred to internationally as non-bank financial intermediation or market-based finance. According to the recently published Financial Stability Board’s Global Monitoring Report on Non-Bank Financial Intermediation 2018, as at the end of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Personal Injury Claims (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: One of the key areas raised by various stakeholders to the Cost of Insurance Working Group is the level of awards in this country for soft tissue injuries compared with the UK in particular. In addition to the award levels as the Deputy will be aware there can also be significant costs over and above such awards including legal, medical and other costs. Data from the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, the second phase of the Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) project culminated in the publication in January 2018 of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance. The Report makes 15 recommendations with 29 associated actions, detailed in an Action Plan with agreed timelines for implementation. The most recent Progress Updatewas published last...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (14 Feb 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012 (the Act), the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) has been assigned the monitoring and assessment functions required of an independent national fiscal institution under the Treaty on Stability, Co-ordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union. The Act establishes the Fiscal Advisory Council and assigns to it responsibility for...