Results 17,961-17,980 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Written Answers — Standards in Public Office Commission: Standards in Public Office Commission (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Standards in Public Office Commission — the standards commission — has been in existence since December 2001. It replaced the Public Offices Commission, which was established in November 1995. During that period, I am not aware that the standards commission or its predecessor made any formal proposal to my Department that the ethics legislation — that is, the Ethics in Public Office...

Written Answers — Departmental Publications: Departmental Publications (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: There is currently one report awaiting publication in my Department. The report is entitled "Public Awareness Research of the National Development Plan and Community Support Framework 2000-2006", which was commissioned from Drury Communications in September 2004 and cost €33,680. It is expected that the report will be published shortly.

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The programme of decentralisation will be implemented through the transfer of staff on a voluntary basis. There will be no redundancies and, as on previous occasions, the payment of removal or relocation expenses will not arise. However, consultations will be held with the public service unions on an ongoing basis to address the concerns of all staff affected by the programme.

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The results published following the closure of the priority period for applications for decentralisation, 7 September 2004, showed that 8,958 applications were received during the priority period, of which 4,813 were from people currently located in Dublin. Of these, 8,152 were from civil servants, 4,236 of whom are based in Dublin. The central applications facility, CAF, continues to accept...

Written Answers — Price Inflation: Price Inflation (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The compilation of the consumer price index is a matter for the Central Statistics Office. The Deputy might note, however, that whether on a CPI basis or on the EU harmonised index of consumer prices, inflation in Ireland is at the lower end of the EU scale. With regard to competitiveness, I have dealt with this issue in other replies to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: Revenue receipts depend on the rate of tax, the volume of transactions and the monetary value of those transactions. It is normal for tax revenues to rise when consumer spending rises and this, in turn, represents the favourable economic climate being fostered by the Government. This reflects extra revenue from existing levels of tax and, as such, the returns of tax revenue are not broken...

Written Answers — Disabled Drivers: Disabled Drivers (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The disabled drivers and disabled passengers tax concessions scheme is open to people with disabilities who meet the specified criteria and have obtained a primary medical certificate to that effect from the local branch of the Health Service Executive. Where the issue of the required certificate is refused, this can be appealed to the disabled drivers medical board of appeal, an independent...

Written Answers — Departmental Revenues: Departmental Revenues (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: As regards the M50 West Link bridge, the National Road Authority's share of the toll receipts is paid to the Department of Transport as an appropriation-in-aid. It, therefore, contributes to funding that Department's expenditure on transport services and investment. The Department of Transport received €8 million in 2004 from this share of toll receipts and it expects to receive €11.8...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The report of the decentralisation implementation group, DIG, of 19 November 2004 set out 15 organisations to be included in an early movers group and a further group of six possible early movers with a range of indicative dates for decentralisation of third quarter 2006 to third quarter 2008. In line with this there have been no staff moves to the above decentralisation locations to date....

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: Section 50 of the Finance Act 2004 provided for the introduction of a scheme for excise tax relief for biofuels. The purpose of the provision was to allow qualified and conditional relief from excise of biofuel used in approved pilot projects for either the production of biofuel or the testing of the technical viability of biofuel for use as a motor fuel. It was necessary to obtain approval...

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The taxation of motor fuel is made up of two elements, mineral oil excise and VAT. The amount of mineral oil excise collected is based on the volume of motor fuel sold, in this case the number of litres of petrol or diesel sold. The revenue collected from mineral oil excise does not fluctuate with price changes. Therefore, assuming there is no change in the volume sold, the increase in tax...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy will be aware, changes in taxation are made in the context of the annual budget and, accordingly, any requests made regarding changes in tax rates are considered in the period leading up to the budget. The Deputy will appreciate that it is neither practical nor prudent to adjust tax rates between budgets. However, it should be noted that Ireland's mineral oil tax on petrol and...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 150 and 151 together. There is currently in place a scheme of tax relief for corporate investment in certain renewable energy projects, including those successful in the alternative energy requirement competitions. To qualify for the relief the energy project must be in the solar, wind, hydro or biomass technology categories, and be approved by the Minister...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I assume that the Deputy is referring to a single employee who is liable for full rate PRSI deductions and has the personal tax credit and PAYE credit only. For 2004, such an employee earning €79,000 had a net take home pay of €51,416. For 2005, such an employee earning €82,000 will have a net take home pay of €53,614. The increase in net take home pay is €2,198 or 4.27%. The...

Written Answers — Liquor Licences: Liquor Licences (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the information requested is not readily available. However, I have asked the Revenue Commissioners to forward all relevant information to the Deputy within a matter of weeks.

Written Answers — EU Funding: EU Funding (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy will be aware that investments under the national development plan are delivered through a number of operational programmes which are directly managed and implemented by Departments, the regional assemblies or other agencies. The responsibility of my Department is to ensure that resources are made available to meet the Government's objectives and to secure full draw-down of...

Written Answers — EU Funding: EU Funding (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: Under proposals advanced by the European Commission, EU regions will be eligible for Structural Funds under three objectives. The convergence objective will be broadly similar to the current Objective One, with regions having GDP per capita below 75% of the EU-25 average eligible for the highest level of support. The regional competitiveness and employment objective covers all regions not...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: I announced in my Budget Statement that my Department and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners are undertaking a detailed review of certain tax incentive schemes and exemptions during the course of this year. On 9 April I announced the award of two external consultancy contracts for the reviews. One consultancy firm is examining the area-based urban, town and rural renewal schemes and the...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: Any Minister of Finance would review the schemes, the way in which they interact with the economic and social priorities of the day and whether he or she wishes to continue with them or change, add to or detract from them. In this case, having taken up office shortly before my budget, I put in place a more structured review system and obtained consultancy help in looking at the schemes which...

Tax Code. (1 Jun 2005)

Brian Cowen: As I stated in my reply, I am not in a position to indicate any likely publication date for those studies at this time. We must first receive and consider them. Tax strategy documents are not published until after the budget and Finance Bills have been considered. I am leaving such matters open and am not prepared to give a commitment on anything until I see the contents of the report. As...