Results 18,541-18,560 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Written Answers — Money Laundering: Money Laundering (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: Irish legislation on money laundering is set out in the Criminal Justice Act 1994, as amended. Primary responsibility for legislation in the area of money laundering rests with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. In regard to regulation of the financial sector the role of the Minister for Finance is to bring forward legislative proposals under which the financial regulator, the...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: Without commenting on the individual tax affairs of the school concerned, the general position is that the scheme of tax relief for donations to approved bodies is governed by section 848A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Approved bodies include primary schools where their programmes are approved by the Minister for Education and Science. A voluntary contribution to an approved body...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: The original scheme for tax relief on donations made to charities was governed by section 8, Finance Act 1995, and applied only to certain designated Third World charities. The current scheme for tax relief on donations to approved bodies, which includes donations made to charities, is governed by section 848A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The scheme was introduced in Finance Act 2001...

Written Answers — Public Private Partnerships: Public Private Partnerships (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: The public private informal advisory group on public-private partnerships, which is chaired by the Department of Finance, has met on 17 occasions since 1 January 2002. The membership includes representatives from the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Construction Industry Federation, the members of the interdepartmental group on PPPs and...

Written Answers — Public Private Partnerships: Public Private Partnerships (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Government is committed to developing the PPP process as a viable procurement option for appropriate projects within the overall context of public investment in infrastructure and public services. PPPs are one procurement tool to be used alongside traditional approaches. I believe that the PPP approach has benefits when applied to projects of the right scale, risk and operational profile....

Written Answers — National Lottery Funding: National Lottery Funding (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy will be aware that funding from the national lottery is disbursed by a number of Departments, including my Department. The only national lottery funds which are disbursed directly by my Department are payments to the promoters of certain charitable lotteries, whose revenue-earning capacity has been adversely affected by the national lottery, to supplement their charitable income...

Constitutional Referenda. (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: Then we will speculate on Deputy Sargent's position on the constitution.

Constitutional Referenda. (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: We are not going to war.

Constitutional Referenda. (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy wants to be in Government but he cannot.

Constitutional Referenda. (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: If the Deputy's party could conclude its discussions on it that would help.

Constitutional Referenda. (12 Apr 2005)

Brian Cowen: Is the Deputy in favour of the constitution?

Written Answers — Office of the Ombudsman. : Office of the Ombudsman. (24 Mar 2005)

Brian Cowen: A Bill to amend the Ombudsman Act is being prepared, which is intended, inter alia, to extend the Ombudsman's existing remit to a number of public institutions, including the universities. Under the existing Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman is empowered to investigate an administrative decision taken by a body listed in a Schedule to the Act, where such decision aggrieves a person in his or her...

Written Answers — Tax Code. : Tax Code. (24 Mar 2005)

Brian Cowen: I announced in the budget that my Department and the Revenue Commissioners will undertake a thorough evaluation of the effect of all relevant tax incentives, including certain area-based schemes such as the urban, rural and town renewal schemes. These are scheduled to terminate on 31 July 2006. I confirmed to the House that the termination dates laid down in the Finance Act 2004 remain...

Written Answers — Tax Code. : Tax Code. (24 Mar 2005)

Brian Cowen: The stamp duty code does not provide exemptions based on an individual's particular circumstances and introducing such a provision would represent a significant departure from normal stamp duty rules. If such an exemption were introduced, other special cases would demand similar treatment, which would lead to a narrowing of the stamp duty base. This would run counter to the Government's...

Written Answers — Tax Code. : Tax Code. (24 Mar 2005)

Brian Cowen: There are a number of provisions in the tax code to deal with offsetting losses incurred by farmers in a tax year. Section 381 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 permits a person chargeable to income tax who suffers a loss in a trade or profession, including farming, to set off the amount of the loss against income from all sources for the relevant tax year. Relief may only be claimed under...

Written Answers — Disabled Drivers. : Disabled Drivers. (24 Mar 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. The senior area medical officer attached to the relevant local health board is responsible for both the medical assessment and the issuing of the medical certificate. The medical criteria for the...

Written Answers — Tax Code. : Tax Code. (24 Mar 2005)

Brian Cowen: The Revenue Commissioners advise that a PAYE refund for the year 2004 was dealt with on 15 February 2005 and the cheque in respect of the refund was lodged, at the customer's request, to his bank account.

Written Answers — Special Savings Incentive Scheme: Special Savings Incentive Scheme (24 Mar 2005)

Brian Cowen: The special savings incentive accounts scheme commenced in May 2001 and entry to the scheme closed in April 2002. The scheme is a five year savings scheme in which the Exchequer tops up, by way of a tax credit, subscriptions by an individual to his or her SSIA. The accounts mature at the end of the five year period and, provided the individual saver complies with certain conditions laid down...

Written Answers — Tax Code. : Tax Code. (24 Mar 2005)

Brian Cowen: I have been informed by the Revenue Commissioners that there is no general 11 week delay in dealing with claims for tax relief for medical expenses, or any other form of tax relief. At the start of each tax year, the Revenue Commissioners issue in excess of 2 million certificates of tax credits to customers. In addition, most requests for PAYE balancing statements and claims to repayment tend...

Order of Business. (24 Mar 2005)

Brian Cowen: It is proposed to take No. 9a, motion re establishment of Joint Committee on the Constitution; No. 19, Ráitis maidir leis an nGaeilge — Statements on the Irish Language, to conclude at 12 noon, if not previously concluded; No. 9b, motion re Zimbabwe and Roy Bennett; No. 18, Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad] — Second Stage (resumed); and No. 22, Land Bill 2004 [Seanad] — Second Stage...