Results 19,141-19,160 of 32,865 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Stamp Duty (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 197 and 225 together. As I have outlined in a number of PQ replies recently, the measure legislated for in section 68 of Finance Act 2017 (which was not a Budget measure) will allow a farmer to claim relief from stamp duty where he or she sells and purchases land for the purposes of consolidating an existing farm holding has been introduced, subject to a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Aid Investigations (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: While the Government has never accepted the Commission’s analysis in the Apple State aid decision, we have always been clear that we are fully committed to ensuring that recovery of the alleged State aid takes place without delay and have committed significant resources to ensuring that this is achieved as quickly as possible. On 24 April 2018, the Escrow Framework Deed which sets...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry Regulation (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Finance, I have no role in how an insurance company seeks to pursue the recovery of legal costs no matter what the circumstances of the case. It should also be noted that the Central Bank of Ireland does not have any regulatory role in relation to this matter either. Notwithstanding the above, the Cost of Insurance Working Group, chaired by Minister of State Michael...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pensions Reform (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The State encourages individuals to save for retirement by offering tax incentives when saving for a pension. Subject to certain restrictions, relief is provided on eligible contributions and the investment income and capital gains of a pension scheme or fund are exempt from income and capital gains tax. Under the Government’s Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023 a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Maternity Benefit (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: It is my view that the tax treatment of Maternity Benefit payments does not create any additional burden on single income households as the Deputy has suggested. It is a general principle of Irish taxation that, as far as possible, income from all sources should be subject to tax. As a result, the majority of social welfare payments are deemed as taxable for income tax purposes....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Carbon Tax Yield (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 202 and 203 together. It is the long standing practice of the Minister or Finance not to comment on any Budgetary decision which may or may not be taken in advance of the Budget. I can however inform the Deputy that officials from my Department and the ESRI have undertaken a project, as part of a joint research programme, to examine a range of carbon price...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Central Bank of Ireland Investigations (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am informed by the Central Bank that an investigation into RSA Ireland is ongoing and at an advanced stage. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on this matter further at this time.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Sovereign Debt (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department is monitoring developments in Italy. Irish government bonds have performed steadily in the face of recent market turbulence triggered by the political situation in Italy. The yield on the ten year benchmark Irish government bond has fluctuated in a relatively narrow range around the one per cent mark since early May. The NTMA has already issued over €11 billion of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Programme for Government Implementation (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Programme for a Partnership Government contains 63 commitments within the remit of the Department of Finance and substantial progress has been made in implementing these commitments: 12 commitments have been implemented, 50 are on-going or underway, while 1 has not been advanced at this stage. The Department of the Taoiseach will shortly publish the latest Annual Report and this will...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pension Provisions (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 208 together. I am advised by Revenue that, on retirement, an individual in a defined contribution pension savings arrangement has the option, after taking a tax free retirement lump sum, of either using the funds remaining to purchase an annuity or transferring those funds into an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF). Where such an individual is under the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Shared Services (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to inform the Deputy that it is envisaged that all staff who currently work in the Tullamore office will have the opportunity to transition into the National Shared Services Office when the current functions transfer back to Dublin. Not all of the current functions completed in Tullamore will transfer back to Dublin as some functions are transitioning into the National Shared Services...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Yield (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: VAT is a tax on the value added to a supply, and the collection and recovery of VAT takes place at each stage of the chain of supply from manufacturing to retailer. Under EU and domestic VAT rules, traders who are registered for VAT collect VAT on the goods and services that they sell. In turn, such traders are entitled to recover the VAT they incur on their business inputs used in the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Professional Fees (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: For the tax years 2004 to 2010, section 118(5E) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provided that expenses incurred by an employer on behalf of an employee in connection with the payment (or reimbursement) of annual membership fees of a professional body were exempt from tax where such membership was regarded as "relevant to the business" of the employer. This section was repealed in Finance...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: VAT is governed by the EU VAT Directive, with which Irish VAT law must comply. The transport of passengers is exempt from VAT under Irish VAT law and bus operators are exempt from VAT on the supply of transport in this respect. Where a service is exempt under VAT law this means that the supplier of the service does not charge VAT on the supply but it also means that they are not entitled to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Contracts (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware notwithstanding the fact that the State is a shareholder in the institution, the Minister has no direct function in the relationship between Bank of Ireland and its customers. The Minister must ensure that the bank is run on a commercial and independent basis. It would not be appropriate therefore, for the Minister to intervene in the case of any particular customer....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme Eligibility (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank has advised that, for the purposes of the Central Bank mortgage lending rules, a first-time buyer is defined (in SI 47 of 2015) as "a borrower to whom no housing loan has ever before been advanced". The statutory instrument also provides that "where the borrower under a housing loan is more than one person and a housing loan has previously been advanced to any one of those...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme Eligibility (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank has advised that for the purposes of the Central Bank mortgage lending rules, a first time buyer is defined as a borrower to whom no housing loan has ever before been advanced. It also provides that where the borrower under a housing loan is more than one person and one or more of those persons has previously been advanced a housing loan, none of those persons is a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Contracts (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware notwithstanding the fact that the State is a significant shareholder in the institution, the Minister has no direct function in the relationship between AIB/EBS and its customers. The Minister must ensure that the bank is run on a commercial and independent basis. It would not be appropriate, therefore, for the Minister to intervene in the case of any particular...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Community Employment Schemes Operation (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Payments made to participants in Community Employment Schemes are not liable to the Universal Social Charge. These payments are treated as social welfare payments and are therefore exempt from the Universal Social Charge under section 531 AM of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Motor Insurance Data (12 Jun 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy should note at the outset that the National Claims Information Database is a complex project which needs to be carefully developed and implemented in order for it to be effective over the longer term. A key requirement of the database is that information is collected in a consistent way from insurers in order that a clear picture in relation to claim levels and costs can be...