Results 161-180 of 5,974 for speaker:Michael McGrath in 'Dáil debates'

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Reliefs (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: This is the thrust of what he is saying.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Reliefs (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: In the context of that scenario, the Deputy should be prepared to find that the vast majority of his taxation proposals, which comprises up to €3 billion of new tax proposals, will not meet with the support of the officials in the Department of Finance. The thrust of what he is saying, therefore, is that he is going to drop those proposals and not go ahead with them. In that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Reliefs (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: There is no point in having an elected Government-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Reliefs (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: The elected Government considers all the advice and all the issues and then makes policy decisions. On the issue of deadweight, the Deputy should look at some of his own proposals. For example, he wants to get rid of the local property tax. Where is the deadweight in removing a charge from many people who are well able to afford to pay it? Where is the deadweight in the Deputy's proposal...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Reliefs (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy, therefore, should be very careful about getting up on his high horse because it will all rebound on him at some point in the future if he is privileged enough to be elected to government.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Reliefs (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: I can. The Deputy's tax package will fall away.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: EU Directives (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for the question. In November of 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union, ECJ, ruled in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20 that a provision of the EU anti-money laundering, AML, directive under which information on the beneficial ownership of corporate and other legal entities held in central registers must be provided to the general public is invalid. The court...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for the question. The tax debt warehousing scheme has offered valuable and practical liquidity support to businesses during the Covid pandemic and continues to support businesses as they recover from the impacts of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. It has assisted businesses with their cash flow during difficult trading periods, preventing business failure. ...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: It is important to emphasise a number of points. One is that the requirement on businesses is to engage with Revenue now and to enter into an agreement by 1 May 2024. I have seen reports that they must have repaid their tax warehouse debt by 1 May but that is not the case. It is not even necessarily the case that there has to be a downpayment by that date but they must have entered into an...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: -----and to monthly repayments. I will perhaps put on record the breakdown in a moment when I get a chance.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: First, the tax debt warehousing scheme is a really good scheme when compared to the interest rates that apply, for example, to other tax debt. Non-warehoused tax debt has a general interest rate of 10% or 8% in the case of income tax underpayments. That just puts in context that this is a really good scheme. We do have to be fair to all of those who did not avail of tax debt...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Code (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: So hospitality is not among the top sectors benefiting from this scheme.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tax Reliefs (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy very much. Landlords are an essential feature of a functioning housing market. Rising rents are driven by a shortage of supply, so stabilising and increasing the supply of rental properties should ease upward pressure on rental prices and make it easier for prospective tenants to find affordable homes. The new residential premises rental income relief is a tax relief...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy. If I may briefly respond to the first point he made, I am satisfied that the Revenue Commissioners will apply the law without fear or favour. I do not direct them on operational matters but they have all of the powers they need and they will fully discharge their responsibilities. They will engage directly with RTÉ and any other relevant parties to ensure all...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: The Government position on this is clear. It is our understanding and expectation that once a home is certified and remediated under the scheme, it will be treated for mortgage purposes in the same manner as any other home. This specific issue is being dealt with by the subgroup to which I referred. It met on 11 January. The focus was on the ability of the homes to be mortgaged. The...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (1 Feb 2024)

Michael McGrath: I am very much across the issues involved that are relevant to the work of the Department and the bodies that come under its aegis. The Department is part of the implementation steering group and the subgroup where these issues are being actively discussed. The ability of the homes to be mortgaged was the focus of the first meeting last month and there will be another meeting this month. I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (23 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputies. As well as being a Minister in a Government, I am a practising TD and deal with individual cases all the time. That has helped me to reach the conclusion that the existing scheme is not the best way to address the needs of persons with a disability, whether they are drivers or passengers. It is a tax-based scheme. The gateway criterion entails eligibility for the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (23 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I believe they will acknowledge it is not a competence of the Department of Finance to define who should be eligible for transport supports and mobility supports arising from disability. We are continuing to administer the existing scheme and will do so until it is replaced. I have shown willingness to respond to events that have arisen and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (23 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: I thank all the Deputies. We should acknowledge that many are benefiting from the existing scheme. I had the figures to hand during Committee Stage of the Finance Bill. Between the VRT, the tax, and the fuel grant, the figure for this year was in the order of €70 million to €80 million. Therefore, many are benefiting from the scheme. It is working well for them. However,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Banking Sector (23 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: This directive will not substantially change the existing domestic regulatory framework governing loan sales, other than in the case of loans falling within scope, that is, non-performing loans sold by a bank to a non-bank from 30 December 2023. The purchaser of such loans will not now have to be authorised by the Central Bank or by a comparable competent authority in another member state....