Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Finance the number, title and purpose of the EU directives not yet incorporated into law relating to his Department's work; and when it is envisaged that these outstanding directives will be incorporated into Irish law in each case. [21746/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently eight EU directives for which my Department has responsibility which have yet to be incorporated into Irish Law. Council Directive 2003/98/EC Re-use of Public Sector Information lays down ground rules for the re-use of public sector information for commercial purposes. The statutory instrument effecting the transposition was signed by the Minister for Finance on 16 June 2005 and will be published in Iris Oifigiúil on Friday, 24 June 2005. The EU Commission will be formally notified immediately upon its publication therein. The deadline for implementation is 1 July 2005.

Council Directive 2004/106/EC of 16 November 2004 amends Directive 77/799/EEC concerning mutual assistance by the competent authorities of the member states in the field of direct taxation, certain excise duties and taxation of insurance premiums and Directive 92/12/EEC on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products. The purpose of the directive is to remove from Council Directive 77/799/EEC and from Council Directive 92/12/EEC any reference to mutual assistance on excise duties. Mutual assistance in the area of excise will now be dealt with by EC Regulation No. 2073/2004. This directive requires transposition by 1 July 2005 and my Department has been examining the matter with the Attorney General's office on the specific aspects, if any, of the directive that remain to be transposed.

Council Directive 2005/19/EC of 17 February 2005 amends Directive 90/434/EEC 1990 on the common system of taxation applicable to mergers, divisions, transfers of assets and exchange of shares concerning companies of different member states. It amends the 1990 mergers directive, which provides tax neutrality for cross-border company restructuring. The amending directive extends tax deferral to a larger number of cases and improves the methods to secure tax neutrality while safeguarding the financial interests of member states. The deadline for transposition is 1 January 2006 and it is expected that it will be transposed by ministerial order before that deadline with confirmation of the order in next year's Finance Bill as is the normal practice.

Council Directive 2004/18/EC: Revised Public Sector Procurement Directive, co-ordinates the procurement procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts. The deadline for implementation is 30 January 2006 and it is envisaged that the directive will be incorporated into Irish law well in advance of this date.

Council Directive 2004/17/EC: Revised Utilities Sector Procurement Directive, co-ordinates the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sector. The deadline for implementation is 30 January 2006 and it is envisaged that the directive will be incorporated into Irish law well in advance of this date.

Council Directive 2004/39/EC: Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, MIFID, allows investment firms to provide their services across the EU on the basis of their home country authorisation, that is, it will give them an effective single passport. The deadline for implementation is 30 April 2006. However, on 14 June 2005, the Commission published a proposal to extend the deadline by which member states must transpose this directive by six months, that is, until 30 October 2006. This recent proposal must be ratified by the Council and the Parliament. It is expected that this directive will be incorporated into Irish law by the deadline of 30 October 2006.

Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructures the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity. The deadline for transposition was 31 December 2003. As was already outlined in response to the parliamentary question reference number 14648/05 of 5 May 2005, Ireland was already in compliance with all significant requirements of the directive prior to the deadline. The outstanding elements of the directive have been provided for in Finance Act 2005, subject to a commencement order in one instance. A letter notifying the Commission of this position has issued.

Council Directive 2004/56/EC of 21 April 2004 amends Directive 77/799/EEC and concerns mutual assistance in the field of direct taxation, certain excise duties and taxation of insurance premiums. It provides for a single set of rules to be applied to the information gathering process by a member state in responding to a request for assistance from another member state. In addition, the directive provides for all information made known to another member state to be subject to the same privacy rules as information gathered under the national legislation of the member state providing the information. The deadline for transposition was 1 January 2005. A statutory instrument is being prepared and it is expected that the directive will be transposed in the coming weeks.

Every effort is being made by my Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General and Parliamentary Counsel to the Government, to ensure that any outstanding directives will be transposed as a matter of urgency and that remaining directives will be transposed on time.