Written answers
Wednesday, 27 September 2006
Department of Finance
Legislative Programme
8:00 pm
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 524: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a list of the Acts or sections or other provisions of Acts coming wholly or partly under the auspices of his Department, or for the commencement of which his Department is wholly or partly responsible, which are not in force and which require the future making of a commencement order; if, in each case, it is intended to make such an order; if so, when; the reason for the failure to make such an order to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29477/06]
Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware it is not always appropriate that all sections of an Act commence from the date it is signed by a Minister. The use of a commencement provision facilitates a more flexible approach by enabling specific sections to be commenced at a later stage by means of a Statutory Instrument. This may arise where it is not appropriate to enact a provision until further consultation takes place.
The following table lists the Acts, sections and other provisions of Acts coming wholly or partly under the auspices of my Department which are not in force and which require the future making of a commencement order.
| Title of Acts or sections or other provisions of Acts requiring Commencement Order | When will the Commencement order be made | Reason why such an order has not been made to date |
| Bretton Woods Agreement Amendment Act 1999 | 21 Dáil Sitting days from 7th June 2006 | Section 7, Bretton Woods Agreement Amendment Act 1999 requires this proposal to be laid before the Dáil for 21 sitting days.The proposal was so laid on 7 June 2006. |
| Credit Union Act 1997 | Under review | Not commenced due to concerns from the Credit Union Movement at the time. This section is being considered as part of the current review of longer term credit union lending. |
| Credit Union Act 1997 | Under review | Not commenced at the time due to concerns raised by the accountancy profession. The Department and the Financial Regulator will be consulting with the accountancy profession in the coming weeks. |
| Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004 | Still under review | Following consultation with the insurance industry, the Financial, Regulator has asked for its implementation to be deferred. |
| Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 | Activation of this Section is not yet required | While the Revenue Commissioners are committed to examining the possibilities of requiring some classes of taxpayers (e.g. large companies) to mandatory file tax returns, Revenue's consideration of the issues involved is not yet at the stage where the activation of this section is required. |
| Finance Act 2006. | September/ October 2006 | Commencement of section 81 of the 2006 Act is subject to receiving state aid clearance from the European Commission. |
| Finance Act 2006 | No date set at present | A commencement order cannot be made at this stage because the "sulphur free" products for which the replacement Schedule makes provision are not yet readily available on the Irish market. |
| Finance Act 2005 | No date set at present | Consultations are ongoing with tax practitioners as regards OECD recommendations on the tax treatment of the exercise of share options involving cross border issues. |
| Finance Act 2006 | No date set at present | Awaiting commencement of section 64 of the Mental Health Act 2001 and the making of regulations under section 66 of that Act |
| Finance Act 2006 | No date set at present | Awaiting the conclusion of consultations with the European Commission. |
| Finance Act 2006 | Early October 2006 | The order could not be made until the Irish Heritage Trust was formally established as a company and had been granted charitable tax exemption. This has now taken place and arrangements are now being made to put in place the necessary Commencement Order and Designation Order. |
| Finance Act 2006 | November 2006 | The gap between the Finance Act and the Commencement Order was necessary to allow taxpayers time to familiarise themselves with the impact of the new rules and thereby ensure a smooth transition from the current provisions. |
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