Written answers
Wednesday, 7 February 2007
- Tax Code
Question 111: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to an arrangement whereby stamp duty on a property transaction can be substantially avoided by using a company sale... - National Development Plan
Question 112: To ask the Minister for Finance the person who will be accountable for negotiations on PPPs for the National Development Plan 2007 to 2013; the measures in place to ensure that the... - Tax Code
Question 113: To ask the Minister for Finance the tax incentive measures he plans to introduce to ensure that Ireland meets the EU target of 5.75% biofuels by 2010; and if he will make a... - Motor Taxation
Question 114: To ask the Minister for Finance if the public consultation process regarding changes in the VRT system for lower emissions vehicles will just involve the gathering of submissions... - National Development Plan
Question 115: To ask the Minister for Finance the schedule of presentation of programmes under the National Development Plan. [4164/07] - Tax Code
Question 116: To ask the Minister for Finance if he has instructed the Revenue Commissioners to conduct an estimate of under claiming of tax reliefs by taxpayers; and the latest estimate which... - Fiscal Policy
Question 117: To ask the Minister for Finance if the objectives for tax policy set out in the 2002 Programme for Government remain the priorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter.... - National Development Plan
Question 118: To ask the Minister for Finance the person who will be responsible for project appraisal to ensure National Development Plan programme objectives and value for money are achieved... - Decentralisation Programme
Question 119: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of the proposed decentralisation moves announced in December 2003, in respect of which no property solutions have yet been identified.... - Motor Taxation
Question 120: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on progress in establishing the consultation group announced in Budget 2007 who will look at reforming VRT to penalise those who... - Decentralisation Programme
Question 121: To ask the Minister for Finance the latest information available from the Central Applications Facility in respect of applications from civil servants and other public servants... - Tax Code
Question 122: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that where maintenance is paid by one parent to another on a voluntary basis tax relief cannot be... - Departmental Staff
Question 124: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of staff employed in the central evaluation expenditure unit; if there are plans to increase the number of staff in the unit over the... - Financial Services
Question 125: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the findings of the Financial Services Consultative Consumer Panel that €34 billion of savings of Irish people... - Tax Code
Question 126: To ask the Minister for Finance the annual budget allocated to the Revenue Commissioners to facilitate publicity campaigns encouraging tax payers to claim back tax reliefs they may... - Tax Yield
Question 127: To ask the Minister for Finance the absolute value of the increase and the percentage increase in total tax raised since 2002; and if he is satisfied with the tax policies... - Tax Code
Question 128: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied with the equity of tax relief provisions for pensions. [4144/07] - Flood Relief
Question 129: To ask the Minister for Finance if, in view of serious flooding that has affected the livelihoods of several farming families in the Cashen area of north Kerry, the Office of... - Decentralisation Programme
Question 130: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether an all party review of decentralisation is required in the national interest to conform more closely with the recommendations... - Tax Code
Question 131: To ask the Minister for Finance the latest information in relation to tax incentives for private hospitals developments regarding the number of applications made under the scheme;... - National Development Plan
Question 132: To ask the Minister for Finance the reasoning behind the unallocated public private partnership reserve provision of €2.8 billion which features as part of the National... - Pension Provisions
Question 133: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the options for pension reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4161/07] - Taxpayers' Advocate
Question 134: To ask the Minister for Finance if he supports the establishment of a tax advocate with powers to monitor fair treatment of taxpayers. [4136/07] - National Development Plan
Question 135: To ask the Minister for Finance if an inflation impact study was conducted for the National Development Plan 2007 to 2013; if such a study will be published; and if he will make a... - Tax Code
Question 136: To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated cost to the Exchequer of the introduction of mortgage interest relief measures introduced in Budget 2007; and the projected property... - Ethics in Public Office
Question 137: To ask the Minister for Finance the circumstances in which a gift to a serving Minister will be deemed to be a conflict of interest under the purposed new amendment to rules... - Tax Code
Question 138: To ask the Minister for Finance the property based tax reliefs for which no termination date has been set; and if he has requested any reviews of these or other reliefs by the... - Travel Insurance
Question 139: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is no code of practice to protect consumers in the sale of travel insurance; and if he will... - Export Performance
Question 140: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the medium term implication of Ireland's export performance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4152/07] - Exchequer Revenue
Question 141: To ask the Minister for Finance the proceeds received to date by the Exchequer from the sale of shares in Aer Lingus; and if these funds are to be placed under management by the... - Internet Trading
Question 142: To ask the Minister for Finance the mechanism in place by his Department and by the Revenue Commissioners in relation to trading on the internet; the level of taxes or VAT... - Tax Code
Question 143: To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated cost to the Exchequer in 2007 of the 1% cut in the top rate of tax in Budget 2007; and the percentage of earners paying tax at the top... - National Development Plan
Question 144: To ask the Minister for Finance if an environmental assessment of the National Development Plan was carried out; if there was a public consultation conducted as part of this... - Interest Rates
Question 145: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the implications for the Irish economy of the expected further increase in interest rates; and if he will make a statement on the... - Tax Code
Question 146: To ask the Minister for Finance the basis on which forecasts of capital tax are made by his Department; and the assumptions in respect of the number of taxable transactions and the... - Pension Provisions
Question 147: To ask the Minister for Finance if he sees merit in modifying the requirement in approved pension schemes of taking out an annuity in view of the poor value in such annuities. ... - Personal Indebtedness
Question 148: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that the Financial Regulator is doing enough to protect consumers in relation to credit card debt in view of the high interest... - Business Expansion Scheme
Question 149: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether a 35% response rate in the recent business expansion scheme survey is sufficient a quantity to base BES reform decisions on.... - Tax Yield
Question 150: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is confident in mechanisms used to make Exchequer return projections which form an important basis of spending allocations in view of the... - Financial Services Regulation
Question 151: To ask the Minister for Finance when the proposed changes to the regulation of money lenders will be introduced by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority; the powers the... - Tax Code
Question 152: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on reports by the Institute of Taxation that PAYE workers could be owed up to €1 billion in unclaimed tax relief and that about 40% of... - Proposed Legislation
Question 156: To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to amend the Credit Union Act and regulations which have hampered their development. [4129/07] - Decentralisation Programme
Question 157: To ask the Minister for Finance the specific circumstances under which surplus civil servants unwilling to move to new locations under the decentralisation programme will be... - National Development Plan
Question 158: To ask the Minister for Finance the penalties and actions that will be taken should a progress report on an National Development Plan 2007 to 2013 project submitted to a management... - Exchequer Revenue
Question 159: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the heavy reliance of the Exchequer on revenue from the housing sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4124/07] - Fiscal Policy
Question 160: To ask the Minister for Finance if he has assessed the implication of the Central Bank's Financial Stability Report for Government policy; and if he will make a statement on the... - National Development Plan
Question 161: To ask the Minister for Finance if consideration has been given to the prioritisation of projects in the National Development Plan in the event of a change in economic conditions;... - Tax Code
Question 162: To ask the Minister for Finance the impact of individualisation on a married couple with one earner, a married couple with 2 earners and a separated couple where both are earning;... - Exchequer Revenue
Question 164: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will comment on the Exchequer return for the first month of 2007. [3893/07] - Capital Projects
Question 165: To ask the Minister for Finance the size a project must be to qualify as a major project worthy of a project manager; the Civil Service level of salary that will be provided for... - Financial Services Regulation
Question 166: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on legislating for the right to a bank account, as has been done in other States, enabling people without a bank account to open an... - Tax Code
Question 168: To ask the Minister for Finance if he has studied proposals for tax reform to ease the operation of charities; and his views on proposals for VAT compensation, threshold for... - Performance Indicators
Question 169: To ask the Minister for Finance if any Department failed the end of 2005 deadline for the development of performance indicators set out in his Department's recent report on a new... - Special Savings Incentive Scheme
Question 170: To ask the Minister for Finance the amount paid out to date on mature SSIA accounts with a monthly breakdown since payments began; the estimated payments for the next 12 months;... - Departmental Expenditure
Question 171: To ask the Minister for Finance the evaluations of public spending programmes which his Department has undertaken during the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the... - National Development Plan
Question 172: To ask the Minister for Finance the breakdown of the persons responsible for the €3.75 billion underspend in the Border Midland Western region; and if he will make a statement on... - Tax Yield
Question 173: To ask the Minister for Finance the percentage of GNP that the total annual tax revenue was equivalent to for each year from 2002 to date in 2007, broken down into each taxation... - National Development Plan
Question 174: To ask the Minister for Finance if there will be individual timeframes published for the implementation of the various components of the National Development Plan. [4074/07] - Tax Code
Question 175: To ask the Minister for Finance the Government's view on the potential for taxation to play a role in promoting energy efficiency and emission reductions. [4160/07] - Garda Stations
Question 177: To ask the Minister for Finance if the sketch scheme has been completed by the Office of Public Works for the Garda area headquarters in Castleisland; when the project will proceed... - Airport Customs Controls
Question 178: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on the progress of the review of the Revenue Commissioners of customs and immigration controls at private airports; when a report... - National Development Plan
Question 179: To ask the Minister for Finance the carbon costings for each of the proposals of the National Development Plan 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3865/07] - Financial Services Regulation
Question 180: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that technology and procedures available to the banking and financial services sectors are adequate to identify and deter money... - National Development Plan
Question 181: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the criticism by the ESRI of the National Development Plan 2007 to 2013 that the plan is doomed to repeat the... - Financial Services Regulation
Question 182: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that as interest rates rise, the financial institutions are not taking the opportunity to increase their margins. [4158/07] - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Question 183: To ask the Minister for Finance the nomination procedures that were applied when recently filling Ireland's membership position on the European Bank for Reconstruction and... - Financial Services Regulation
Question 184: To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department will be monitoring the implementation of the Consumer Protection Code published by the Financial Regulator when it comes into... - National Development Plan
Question 185: To ask the Minister for Finance the projected tax revenues for the period of the National Development Plan 2007, indicating where the revenue required each year for the Plan will... - Tax Collection
Question 186: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that €71 million was wrongly deducted from 1,100 companies by the Revenue Commissioners; the systems... - Tax Code
Question 187: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the tax implications of the sugar compensation package for farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4046/07] - National Development Plan
Question 189: To ask the Minister for Finance the latest returns he has received in respect of progress in the expenditure profile and the profile in delivery of planned outputs from the various... - Personal Indebtedness
Question 190: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the fact that, according to findings of the EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2005 published by the Central... - Tax Code
Question 193: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether the reduction in the entitlement to retrospective claims for PAYE credits and refunds from ten years to four years as provided... - Personal Indebtedness
Question 194: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether helping persons on low incomes to save is an important measure to help prevent such families falling into debt; and if he will... - Economic Competitiveness
Question 195: To ask the Minister for Finance the action he will take to address the Central Bank renewed warnings regarding the economy's declining competitiveness and call for the Government... - Special Savings Incentive Scheme
Question 196: To ask the Minister for Finance the take up rate on SSIA holders, who are taxed at 20%, of the PRSA incentive; the number of SSIA holders eligible for this scheme; the number who... - Economic Competitiveness
Question 198: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the recent Central Bank warning that despite the interest rate rises the demand for credit here remains strong and that Ireland's... - Tax Yield
Question 199: To ask the Minister for Finance the expected distribution of income earners for income tax payments for 2006 broken down in number and percentage terms into the categories of... - Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Question 200: To ask the Minister for Finance the tax incentive measures he proposes to ensure that Ireland meets the target set down by the European Commission in January 2007 for a 30%... - Anti-Poverty Strategy
Question 201: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will introduce a savings scheme for low income households, on a pilot basis for two years, in the form suggested by the Society of St Vincent... - National Development Plan
Question 202: To ask the Minister for Finance the person who will be accountable and personally responsible for the spending of €184 billion on the National Development Plan 2007 to 2013 over... - Decentralisation Programme
Question 203: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will elaborate on the nature and need for four PPP projects worth €100 to €250 million being pursued by the Office of Public Works under... - Tax Collection
Question 205: To ask the Minister for Finance the tax implications for farmers who do not receive their single farm payment in the year of their application; and if he will make a statement on...
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