Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 14 May 1996

Vol. 465 No. 3

Written Answers. - EU Matters.

Joe Walsh

Question:

102 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Finance if he will give details of the EU directives, regulations and conventions in respect of which his Department has responsibility and which have not yet been transposed into or made part of Irish law; and the timescale for completion of the work in respect of each instrument. [9679/96]

Minister for Finance (Mr. Quinn)

The following are the details of EU directives, regulations and conventions, in respect of which my Department has responsibility, which have not yet been transposed into or made part of Irish law, and the timescale for the completion of the work in respect of each instrument.

Directive 95/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amends Directives 77/780/EEC and 89/646/EEC in the field of credit institutions, Directives 73/239/EEC and 92/49/EEC in the field of non-life insurance, Directives 79/267/EEC and 92/96/EEC in the field of life assurance, Directive 93/22/EEC in the field of investment firms and Directive 85/661/EEC in the field of undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS), with a view to reinforcing prudential supervision. The Department of Finance is drafting regulations to transpose the above directive in so far as it relates to credit institutions and investment firms. The directive must be transposed by 18 July 1996.

With regard to the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, Council Directive 94/74/EC on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty was due for implementation on 30 June 1995. The main provisions of the Directive were implemented in the Finance Act, 1995 (sections 99 to 102). The remaining applicable provisions are to be implemented by regulation very shortly.

The only outstanding issue in relation to direct taxes is the ratification of the Convention on the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the convention on the elimination of double taxation in connection with the adjustment of profits of associated enterprises. The convention was signed on 21 December 1995 and it is hoped to have it ratified by the end of 1996.

The Convention on the use of Information Technology for Customs Purposes, that is, CIS Convention was signed by Ireland on 26 July 1995. In order to ratify the convention, it may be necessary to introduce domestic legislation to give effect to one of its provisions; this issue is currently being considered in conjuction with the Attorney General's Office. It is not yet possible to give a timescale for ratification. The intention, however, is that it should be ratified as quickly as possible.

The Agreement on the provisional application between certain member states of the EU of the Convention on the use of Information Technology for Customs purposes was signed at the same time as the CIS Convention which is mentioned above, and domestic legislation may, in this case also, be required before ratification can take place. Until the matter has been clarified with the Attorney General's Office, no deadline for ratification may be set.