Results 17,721-17,740 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: It is indeed the Deputy's duty to represent his constituents and it is in cognisance of the points he is making that I made the decision to make no further change to the tax rates that are applicable to the price of fuel. A general point I would make in the debate on carbon taxation that I know is going to ensue from decisions I made on budget day is that if the contention is - and I accept...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fiscal Policy (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I want to inform the Deputy that this week I brought the National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018 to Government and this Bill has now been published. It will be circulated to Deputies in the coming days. It provides the legislative underpinning for the rainy day fund, which will formally be known as the National Surplus (Exceptional Contingencies) Reserve...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Reform (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. I have also considered how Holland has been implementing the regime in question. Regarding redress and compensation, a total of €580 million had been provided to impacted customers up to the end of August. That amount was their money and it required a large amount of effort from the Central Bank to get to this point. As to sanctions to date and as the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Reform (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Those customers and citizens who are concerned - I share that concern - about the need for accountability and redress should be cognisant of the amount of money that has now been correctly returned to customers who were wronged. The inquiry is being led by the director general of the Central Bank. The Deputy mentioned his hope that there would be a single and clear answer. My...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his question. The point he is making to me about the rising cost of fuel gives a different perspective to the debate that is under way on carbon taxation. The reality is that some forms of fuel are increasing in price. Between January and September of this year, the average prices per litre of petrol and diesel rose by approximately 7 cent and 12 cent, respectively....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Staff (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As already mentioned, we are providing staff and resourcing in line with the central scenario and the request that has been placed on me. We are engaging in evaluation of what could happen in a no deal scenario. The consequences of being in that place stretch beyond resourcing for all of the European Union. In that place and contingency the provisions that are open to us regarding use...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Avoidance (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware wealth is already taxed in a range of ways. The local property tax is based on the market value of residential properties. Capital acquisitions tax and capital gains tax are levied at 33% on the sale of assets. Bank interest in most cases is subject to deposit interest retention tax and the stamp duty levy on the transfer of shares yielded a net total of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Avoidance (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Any input I get from the Revenue Commissioners in relation to anti-avoidance rules or anything that needs to be done to deal with tax evasion on an individual or a systemic basis I act on. The policies that we have in place now, I believe, are effective and proportionate. The reason for this belief is backed up by the figures on those, for example, earning more than €400,000. In...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Banking Sector Reform (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, I have long been on record as stating that there are cultural failings in the banking sector that must be addressed. I want to acknowledge the Deputy's role in addressing all of this, particularly in relation to the tracker mortgage scandal. The Deputy pursued the issue forensically at the Oireachtas finance committee. The Central Bank section 6A report on the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Staff (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I am advised by Revenue that its Brexit contingency plans are progressing well. Revenue's priority to date has been on upgrading relevant IT systems to have the most advanced systems possible to support and facilitate smooth and efficient trade flows. Performance testing is now well advanced and I am assured by Revenue that based on the work...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Staff (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will answer the different questions the Deputy has put to me. The staff the Government will make available to the Revenue Commissioners is in line with what they have requested, namely, 200 staff to be in place by that point in March next year. Our aim then would be to recruit the balance of the staff in the period after that across a transitionary period. The objective of the European...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Motor Insurance Costs (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 43 together. The Cost of Insurance Working Group’s Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance was published in January 2017 and makes 33 recommendations with 71 associated actions to be carried out in agreed timeframes, set out in an Action Plan. In line with the commitment to publish quarterly update reports on the implementation of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Strategy Group (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I have always been clear that the amalgamation of USC and PRSI is a medium term plan and, as a result, the matter is being progressed on a separate track from the Budget and Finance Bill process. The Working Group have now completed their work, in line with their terms of reference. Their Report was submitted to me in recent weeks and I am now considering the contents. The Report addresses a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Central Bank of Ireland Reports (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank Section 6A Report on the culture and behaviour of the main retail banks was drafted by the Central Bank in response to my request in November 2017, on foot of the serious cultural failings in banks brought to light in the Tracker Mortgage Examination. My Department’s analysis of the report found that it is a detailed, qualitative and considered analysis of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Issues (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department’s budget forecasts assume, as a central scenario, that the UK will make an ‘orderly’ exit from the EU. This involves a transition period being agreed until the end of 2020, and a free trade agreement being agreed thereafter. However, I am conscious that the nature of the UK’s exit remains uncertain, and that the risks of a harder Brexit have...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Costs (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I announced in the Budget that the amount of interest that may be deducted by landlords in respect of loans used to purchase, improve or repair a residential property will be restored to 100% from 1 January 2019 at an estimated cost of €10 million in the first year and €18 million in a full year. It is not a new initiative but rather an acceleration of the rate of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Remuneration (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputies will be aware that Government policy on banking remuneration has remained unchanged since the financial crisis. Extensive restrictions are in place and from the outset let us be clear these are not simply confined to a handful of senior bankers whose pay is restricted by the €500,000 pay cap (excluding a standard pension contribution). These affect c.23,000 workers across the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Film Industry Tax Reliefs (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 52 together. Under Section 481, a company which produces a film can claim a payable tax credit of 32% of eligible expenditure, subject to certain limits. Eligible expenditure is the amount that the producer company spends in Ireland, wholly and exclusively on producing the film. Expenditure outside of Ireland does not qualify for the tax...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Union Advisory Committee (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC) is a statutory committee established under section 180 of the Credit Union Act 1997 to advise the Minister for Finance in relation to: - the improvement of the management of credit unions; - the protection of the interests of members and creditors of credit unions; and - other matters relating to credit unions. Four new appointments...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (25 Oct 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the Irish Banking Culture Board is a private initiative from the banking industry in Ireland aimed at rebuilding trust and confidence in the industry following the tracker mortgage scandal, and as such it is not within the remit of my Department nor the Central Bank as regulator. It is intended that the Irish Banking Culture Board will be an...