Results 19,241-19,260 of 32,610 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Local Authority Housing Provision (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Housing policy is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. The Government’s primary response to the current issues in the housing market is contained in ‘Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness’. Under Rebuilding Ireland, a total of 33,437 social homes will be built out to 2021.  A further 16,566 will be...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Tax Review (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset, I wish to outline Ireland’s position regarding the distribution of wealth. In 2013, the Central Statistics Office conducted the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), which provided the first comprehensive data on Irish household wealth. The net wealth Gini coefficient is a commonly used measure of inequality, where a figure of 100 indicates that one...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Legislative Programme (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I expect to bring my proposals for the general scheme of a Rainy Day Fund Bill to Government for decision in the coming weeks.  Following the consideration of Government, I would expect to forward the general scheme of the Bill to the Oireachtas for its consideration.  I would hope to progress the Bill quickly, but I am not yet in a position...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Availability (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Start-Up Relief for Entrepreneurs (SURE) is a tax relief for individuals who leave full-time employment and start up their own business. In general terms, relief under SURE is available for an individual who: - Gives up full-time employment elsewhere to take up full-time employment with the new company. - Sets up a new company to carry out a new trade. Therefore, companies that carry on a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware of the concerns raised by the Deputy in relation to the financial strain which the cost of insurance may place on community, voluntary and charitable organisations, such as men’s sheds. As Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation. Neither I nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Commencement of Legislation (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Sections 888 and 894 of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997 impose an obligation on lessors, lessees and agents in relation to rental property to return certain information in relation to rental income to Revenue. The persons obliged to return this information to Revenue include any Minister of the Government, the Health Service Executive, or any Local Authority or similar body which...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 to 70, inclusive, together. The sugar-sweetened drinks tax applies to products if they satisfy three criteria. The first of which is the Customs Combined Nomenclature Code - the tax applies to fruit juices (CN Code 2009) and waters, including mineral and waters and aerated water (CN Code 2202). The second of which is if they contain added sugar,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Charges (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I have received the following response from AIB: " AIB adheres fully to the Mortgage Credit Regulation (MCR) and explicitly in relation to section26 – Early Repayment. The bank is satisfied any breakage costs charged do not exceed thefinancial loss incurred.There are a variety of different methodologies being applied within the market to calculatebreakage fees, and it is important to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Stamp Duty (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: 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 commencement order after a full consideration of any...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 74 together. Supporting the availability of finance for SMEs is a cornerstone element of Government policy in our efforts to strengthen the economy and create jobs. My Department commissions biannual surveys to ascertain the demand for credit by SMEs. This survey series, most recently conducted by Fitzpatrick Consultants and Behaviour and Attitudes...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Competitiveness (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 75 and 78 together. The recovery in the Irish economy over the last number of years, in part, reflects the improvements in Ireland’s competitiveness. As of February 2018, Ireland’s competitiveness, as measured by the Central Bank’s Harmonised Competitiveness Index, has improved by approximately 19 per cent since 2008. The improvement...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Inflation Rate (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Inflation in Ireland has been subdued for several years. For example, on a Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) basis, 2017 was the fifth consecutive year of inflation below 1 per cent. This phenomenon is not restricted to Ireland. Low inflation has been a feature of advanced economies in recent years. However, in 2017, inflation on a HICP basis across the euro area accelerated to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Growth (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Recent economic indicators have generally been positive, indicating that the recovery is continuing in a sustainable manner. Preliminary real GDP growth of 7.8 per cent was recorded for 2017, but this is heavily distorted by activity in the multinational sector. Modified domestic demand, which adjusts for distortions in the Irish economy, is up 4.0 per cent in 2017. Growth is broad based...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Inflation Rate (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department continues to monitor developments in the wider property market, including trends in property prices, on an ongoing basis. According to the Central Statistics Office's Residential Property Price Index, national property prices increased by 0.7 per cent between February and March, and by 12.7 per cent on an annual basis. At the regional level, residential property prices in the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Regulation (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Ensuring that the interests of consumers of financial services are protected is a key priority for the Government and the Central Bank. A key element of the Central Bank’s role is ensuring that the consumer protection regulatory framework is fit for purpose and ensures that consumers best interests are protected. Within the remit of the Central Bank’s responsibilities for...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Budget Targets (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The recently published Stability Programme Update 2018 included an update of the fiscal outlook for 2019. The projected general government balance remains unchanged from Budget 2018 at 0.3 per cent of GDP. Regarding the performance of taxation receipts, I would first caution that it is still too early in the tax collection calendar to discern any firm trends, which in turn underpins the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Book Sales (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 82 and 86 together. Government policy has been that the sale of a loan book should not result in a loss of protections for borrowers. The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015 restored protections to borrowers by making credit servicing a regulated activity and requiring firms which undertook credit servicing to be authorised...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Supports (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department has been to the fore in producing and funding a number of Brexit-related studies, both before and since the UK's referendum decision, to assess and prepare for the impact of a UK exit from the European Union. All of these Brexit-related studies are available on my Department's website. In addition, regular updates of my Department’s Macro-Economic forecasts take account...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Regulation (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act 1942, as amended, provides the Central Bank of Ireland with the power to administer sanctions in respect of the commission of prescribed contravention(s) by Regulated Financial Service Providers (RFSP) regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, and by persons presently or formerly concerned in the management of RFSPs who have participated in the prescribed...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (16 May 2018)

Paschal Donohoe: The European economy continues to grow at a solid pace, with the euro area having grown at its fastest rate in ten years in 2017. The recovery in growth has been accompanied by improved credit conditions and a rise in lending. The provision of credit is an important driver of economic growth as credit is used to fund consumption and investment, while it is also a key transmission...