Results 17,841-17,860 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages [Private Members] (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will make two final points because the amendments are technical in nature and I hope we will be able to pass them quickly. I do not want my comments to be misinterpreted. What Deputy McGuinness just said about the tracker mortgage issue is correct; the money that was being returned to people was their money, full stop, end of story. The fact is that more than €500 million has been...

Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages [Private Members] (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am just responding to the questions the Deputies have put to me.

Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages [Private Members] (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Acting Chairman. As I have said, I have met the commitments I offered to Deputy Michael McGrath earlier in the year. Extending the regulatory reach of the Central Bank to the fundamental owners of the debt can make a difference. I remind the House that the credit servicing firms themselves have always been regulated here in Ireland.

Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages [Private Members] (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputies Kelleher, Fitzmaurice and McGuinness for the additional points they raised. I will deal with some of them, as well as the matters that Deputy Michael McGrath raised. Deputy Fitzmaurice raised a particular point on mortgage to rent and the participation of certain forms of homes within it. I was not aware of the issue he raised and I will follow up to see can I help with...

Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2018: Order for Report Stage [Private Members] (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now." I welcome the opportunity to speak to this Private Members' Bill. I gave a commitment to Deputy Michael McGrath that my Department and I would work with him on his proposed draft Bill to find a way in which the policy objectives of the Bill could be delivered. On Committee Stage, a significant amount of discussion took place on the Bill and since...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: In accordance with Standing Order 163, I ask the House to agree that the Ceann Comhairle instruct the clerk of the Dáil to make a formal correction in the Bill. On page 52, line 42, the phrase "of any company other than—" and the following clauses (I) and (II) on top of page 53 should be aligned to paragraph level as the text is a continuation of paragraph (b) and not...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand that Revenue contacts PAYE taxpayers to remind them that there is a four-year time limit for claiming additional tax credits and reliefs. In late 2017, Revenue issued 135,188 letters to all PAYE taxpayers who had not claimed additional credits or reliefs from 2013 to 2017, reminding them that they may be entitled to make claims on or before 31 December 2017. An additional 291...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: On the e-brief issued by the Revenue Commissioners, it was not in regard to a new policy. Rather, Revenue were confirming existing policy in the area. I imagine they did so in recognition of the growth of the sector. On the requirement for a withholding tax, the Deputy will be aware that the purpose of the withholding tax is to facilitate tax compliance, which as we both know has to occur...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: We have debated this matter on a number of occasions. My point remains that there is a difference between the tax relief that is available to professional bodies and tax reliefs that are available to a trade union. For this reason, I am not in a position to support the amendment.

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: We dealt with this issue on Committee Stage. I will reiterate the two points I made at the time. In principle Deputy Pearse Doherty is against any measure that might add to the price of homes or that might drive the demand for them. However, when I seek to make a policy decision to alleviate the pressure on pricing, acknowledging the fact that the ESRI carried out a report in which it...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The introduction of the exit tax regime is an important development in ensuring that our corporate tax policy continues to meet the evolving international standards in respect of corporation tax policy. I explained on Committee Stage that the reason I was making this change at 12.5% was to bring it into line with the main trading rate of corporate tax. I also made the point that, though...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising this issue and Deputy Fitzmaurice for contributing to it. We discussed it extensively on Committee Stage. At that time, I outlined to Deputy Boyd Barrett the work that was done when my Department and that of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, published a report on intermediary-type structures,...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: There are two reasons why I am not in a position to accept this amendment. The first is the amount of work I and my Department have already done to try to meet the need to which this amendment refers. Officials from my Department and the Revenue Commissioners have appeared before the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. On foot of those appearances we...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 28:In page 145, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 44 of Forestry Act 1988 62.Section 44 of the Forestry Act 1988 is amended, in subsection (11) (amended by section 67(e) of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2011), by substituting “paid by the Minister for Finance” for “paid by the Minister for...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: On Committee Stage I covered the rationale and why I am making the change. The question I am posing to Deputies McGrath and Doherty is a simple one. Do we think this is worth €20 million per year of taxpayers' resources? To my mind, the answer to that question is no. This measure has been in place since 1993. It has been there so long that it appears many were not even aware of...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Three points have been put to me for a response. Deputy Michael McGrath asked me what I have said I will do. First, I will evaluate the proposal that has been put to my Department in respect of a gross profit tax model. This proposal was shared with me very recently. I will make the point that when we engaged with the sector on this model the last time, there was not complete support for...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As I have said, I am happy to engage with the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on the proposal next year. In answer to the Deputy's question regarding when we can do it, I want to engage robustly on the proposal that has been put forward by the industry. We have only recently received a proposal of this breadth. I would be happy to report back to and...

Finance Bill 2018: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I outlined the rationale as to why I am making this move on Committee Stage. I thank Deputies Fitzpatrick, O'Keeffe, Aindrias Moynihan, Troy and Butler for the points they have brought in at this point. There a couple of points I would make. Every decision that I make, particularly in taxation, has consequences, and I have no doubt at all that if I had followed any of the other...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Government Expenditure (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I will answer the last question first. It will have an effect on our net debt because it is an asset that we have and it is funding that is held by the State. Financial markets look at the solvency of the State and that fact will reduce our net indebtedness position. Our national debt will be bond-financed more and more and, at a point in the future, will be exclusively bond-financed....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: NAMA Loans Sale (22 Nov 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I have already dealt with the background to this in a debate with Deputy Catherine Murphy, so I will not repeat what I said to her. I will answer Deputy Wallace's direct question clearly, however. It is my strong view, and a requirement under law, that the relevant oversight body for this matter is the Comptroller and Auditor General. NAMA is in communication with him and his office and...