Written Answers Nos. 115-135
115. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Finance the amount of money that would be yielded for the Exchequer if a €1 excise duty was applied to every bottle of wine and 50 cent to every packet of cigarettes in Budget 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41430/12]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that it is estimated that a €1 increase in excise duty on a bottle of wine would yield in the region of €59.8m and that a 50 cent increase in excise duty on a packet of cigarettes would yield in the region of €81.3m.
116. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41442/12]
View answerAt the outset the Deputy should note that neither I as Minister for Finance nor the Central Bank can prohibit or restrict an insurance company from increasing its annual premium rates, as this is a commercial decision for the company in question. Therefore it is not possible to introduce measures which will direct insurance companies to price in a particular way in response to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) Test-Achats ruling prohibiting gender-differentiation in insurance. The background to this matter as you are aware is that in its decision of 1st March 2011 the ECJ declared invalid, with effect from 21 December 2012, Article 5(2) of the council directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004. The effect of this ruling is that all private insurance contracts concluded for the first time from 21 December 2012 as well as any agreements between parties to extend contracts from that date are prohibited by law from differentiating by gender on price or benefits.
The Department of Justice and Equality is responsible for making the necessary legislative amendments to the Equal Status Act to ensure that they reflect the judgement of the European Court of Justice. The Minister for Justice and Equality expects to announce shortly the details of legislation to amend the Equal Status Acts to reflect this ruling.
In practice, the impact of unisex insurance premium rates may vary depending on the product, reflecting the take-up by each gender and the corresponding risk profile. However, the exact movement in premiums after 21 December 2012 is difficult to predict.
The Government is aware of the concern of many people that insurance premium costs may increase and as a result the Government agreed on 5 June 2012 that the Minister for Justice and Equality, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation would consider what actions their respective Department might take to address the potential adverse consequences of this ruling. This matter is still being examined as always. In the meantime the best advice to the customer is to shop around.
117. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the procedure to be followed in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare whose retirement benefit pension has been taxed at the higher rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41461/12]
View answerI have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that all the tax credits of the person in question have been allocated to his and his spouse’s current employments. The taxpayer did not apply for a tax credit certificate in respect of the pension payment and accordingly the pension provider correctly operated the emergency basis of tax deduction on the pension payment. Revenue has contacted the employer concerned, and based on the information currently available, tax has not been over deducted from the pension payment. After the year end the person concerned can request a PAYE Balancing Statement (P21) and the final position will be determined at that time.
The Revenue Commissioners will contact the person concerned shortly to explain the position.
118. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Finance if this debt restructuring firm (details supplied) is regulated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41464/12]
View answerThe Central Bank has informed me that the company referred to by the Deputy is not currently regulated by the Bank. The Bank is currently engaging with debt management firms to assess if their business models fall within the scope of the European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009 regarding the provision of payment services or Part V of the Central Bank Act 1997 (as amended) regarding the provision of money transmission services. I have received Government approval to bring forward an amendment, at the Committee Stage of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011, to provide for a regulatory regime for debt management and debt advice companies.
119. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance the price differential between items priced in the UK and here;the actions he will take to help reduce this price difference for consumers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41470/12]
View answerComparative consumer price level data across the EU are published by Eurostat. The data show that in 2011 Irish consumer price levels were around 17% higher than the EU27 average. Price levels in the UK were 2% higher than the EU average, implying that, broadly speaking, price levels in Ireland last year were around 15% higher than in the UK. This, however, compares with a gap of around 30% in 2009, so the situation is improving. Data in for the year to date point to a continuation of this trend.
In terms of actions to reduce the price difference for consumers, the Deputy will be aware that there has already been significant deregulation in the utility sector, with these prices now set by independent regulators. Furthermore, the Government is introducing a series of structural reforms, to bring down the cost of doing business, which should also help reduce consumer price inflation.
120. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form the tax take both as a percentage of gross domestic product and in nominal terms by year from 1992 to 2011. [41513/12]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware the Department of Finance now has a publicly available databank on its website with comprehensive tax data where this information can be found (http://databank.finance.gov.ie/). Similarly GDP data can be found on the CSO website (www.cso.ie).
The information requested by the Deputy is provided as follows.
|
Year |
Total Tax (€m) |
GDP (€m) |
Total Tax as % of GDP |
|
1992 |
€11,314 |
€40,489 |
27.9% |
|
1993 |
€12,322 |
€43,605 |
28.3% |
|
1994 |
€13,758 |
€46,864 |
29.4% |
|
1995 |
€14,392 |
€53,787 |
26.8% |
|
1996 |
€15,897 |
€58,894 |
27.0% |
|
1997 |
€18,124 |
€68,154 |
26.6% |
|
1998 |
€20,480 |
€78,685 |
26.0% |
|
1999 |
€23,565 |
€90,683 |
26.0% |
|
2000 |
€27,072 |
€105,775 |
25.6% |
|
2001 |
€27,925 |
€117,643 |
23.7% |
|
2002 |
€29,294 |
€130,877 |
22.4% |
|
2003 |
€32,103 |
€140,827 |
22.8% |
|
2004 |
€35,581 |
€150,194 |
23.7% |
|
2005 |
€39,254 |
€163,037 |
24.1% |
|
2006 |
€45,539 |
€177,729 |
25.6% |
|
2007 |
€47,249 |
€188,729 |
25.0% |
|
2008 |
€40,777 |
€178,882 |
22.8% |
|
2009 |
€33,043 |
€161,275 |
20.5% |
|
2010 |
€31,753 |
€156,487 |
20.3% |
|
2011 |
€34,027 |
€158,993 |
21.4% |
121. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form the national debt as a percentage of gross domestic product and in nominal terms from 1992 to 2011. [41514/12]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is provided as follows.
|
NIE |
National Debt |
GDP current Prices |
National Debt as % GDP |
|
1992* |
33450 |
40,489 |
83% |
|
1993* |
36006 |
43,605 |
83% |
|
1994* |
37111 |
46,864 |
79% |
|
1995 |
38358 |
53,787 |
71% |
|
1996 |
37980 |
58,894 |
64% |
|
1997 |
38966 |
68,154 |
57% |
|
1998 |
37510 |
78,685 |
48% |
|
1999 |
39851 |
90,683 |
44% |
|
2000 |
36511 |
105,775 |
35% |
|
2001 |
36183 |
117,643 |
31% |
|
2002 |
36361 |
130,877 |
28% |
|
2003 |
37610 |
140,827 |
27% |
|
2004 |
37846 |
150,194 |
25% |
|
2005 |
38182 |
163,037 |
23% |
|
2006 |
35917 |
177,729 |
20% |
|
2007 |
37560 |
188,729 |
20% |
|
2008 |
50398 |
178,882 |
28% |
|
2009 |
75152 |
161,275 |
47% |
|
2012 |
93445 |
156,487 |
60% |
|
2011 |
119082 |
158,993 |
75% |
Source: NTMA, CSO
The GDP in current market prices for 1995 to 2011 is sourced from the CSO's National Income and Expenditure (NIE) tables.
*For 1992 to 1994 the historical NIE tables are used. This may introduce a break in the series.
122. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form the annual cost of servicing the national debt in nominal terms and as a percentage of gross domestic product. [41515/12]
View answerThe data requested by the Deputy for the period 1992-2011 is set out in the table. For consistency, the figures are presented in millions of euro. The Deputy might like to know that almost all of the data is contained in my Department’s Budgetary & Economic Statistics publication, the most recent edition of which was published in September 2011. The September 2011 and earlier editions are available on my Department’s website. The Net Debt Service figure for 2011 is taken from the accounts of the NTMA. I would also like to make the deputy aware that my department will be publishing the 2012 BES within the next few days, which also will be made available on my Department’s website.
The nominal GDP figures for the years 1992-2005 are from the September 2011 edition of the BES publication. The 2006-2011 figures are from the CSO’s National Income & Expenditure September 2012 publication.
|
End Year |
Net Debt Service* |
Nominal GDP |
Net Debt Service as % of Nominal GDP |
|
1992 |
2944 |
40100 |
7.3% |
|
1993 |
2930 |
43189 |
6.8% |
|
1994 |
2937 |
46421 |
6.3% |
|
1995 |
2974 |
53692 |
5.5% |
|
1996 |
3142 |
59730 |
5.3% |
|
1997 |
3498 |
68624 |
5.1% |
|
1998 |
3060 |
79333 |
3.9% |
|
1999 |
2800 |
91391 |
3.1% |
|
2000 |
2575 |
105854 |
2.4% |
|
2001 |
2379 |
118122 |
2.0% |
|
2002 |
2169 |
131336 |
1.7% |
|
2003 |
2277 |
140981 |
1.6% |
|
2004 |
2203 |
150560 |
1.5% |
|
2005 |
2238 |
163462 |
1.4% |
|
2006 |
2379 |
177729 |
1.3% |
|
2007 |
2142 |
188729 |
1.1% |
|
2008 |
2098 |
178882 |
1.2% |
|
2009 |
3214 |
161275 |
2.0% |
|
2010 |
4236 |
156487 |
2.7% |
|
2011 |
5375 |
158993 |
3.4% |
*Net Debt Service encompasses debt interest, sinking fund & expenses of issue, as well as changes in assets of the Capital Services Redemption Accounts.
123. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form household debt as a percentage of household income for each year from 1992 to 2011. [41516/12]
View answerFigures on household debt are taken from the Central Bank’s Quarterly Financial Accounts - Table 8.1b - total liabilities outstanding of households and non-profit institutions serving households. These figures are presented quarterly, so the fourth quarter figures have been used with the exception of 2012. Figures for household income are taken from the quarterly Institutional Sector Accounts produced by the CSO. They represent all income earned by households in a particular quarter. These figures have been annualised.
Both of these series only began in 2002. Also, caution is required when interpreting the data as these figures come from two different sources that may not be directly comparable.
|
- |
Debt (€m) |
Income (€m) |
Ratio |
|
2002 |
75,074 |
69,744 |
1.08 |
|
2003 |
88,383 |
74,799 |
1.18 |
|
2004 |
112,917 |
81,287 |
1.39 |
|
2005 |
143,919 |
89,377 |
1.61 |
|
2006 |
175,531 |
96,961 |
1.81 |
|
2007 |
200,954 |
105,284 |
1.91 |
|
2008 |
213,635 |
107,010 |
2.00 |
|
2009 |
209,382 |
94,538 |
2.21 |
|
2010 |
197,867 |
89,167 |
2.22 |
|
2011 |
191,469 |
90,479 |
2.12 |
|
2012* |
188,473 |
91,112 |
2.07 |
* Only data for the 1st quarter are available
124. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form household debt as a percentage of disposable household income for each year from 1992 to 2011. [41517/12]
View answerFigures on household debt are taken from the Central Bank’s Quarterly Financial Accounts - Table 8.1b - total liabilities outstanding of households and non-profit institutions serving households. These figures are presented quarterly, so the fourth quarter figures have been used with the exception of 2012. Figures for household disposable income are taken from the quarterly Institutional Sector Accounts produced by the CSO. They represent all income earned by households in a particular quarter plus net current transfers. These figures have been annualised.
Both of these series only began in 2002. Also, caution is required when interpreting the data as these figures come from two different sources that may not be directly comparable.
|
- |
Debt (€m) |
Disposable Income (€m) |
Ratio |
|
2002 |
75,074 |
64,206 |
1.17 |
|
2003 |
88,383 |
67,631 |
1.31 |
|
2004 |
112,917 |
73,309 |
1.54 |
|
2005 |
143,919 |
80,723 |
1.78 |
|
2006 |
175,531 |
87,098 |
2.02 |
|
2007 |
200,954 |
94,805 |
2.12 |
|
2008 |
213,635 |
100,444 |
2.13 |
|
2009 |
209,382 |
93,509 |
2.24 |
|
2010 |
197,867 |
89,180 |
2.22 |
|
2011 |
191,469 |
87,621 |
2.19 |
|
2012* |
188,473 |
87,944 |
2.14 |
* Only data for the 1st quarter are available
125. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Finance his position regarding pension AVCs; and his plans for alterations in the immediate future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41541/12]
View answerAdditional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) may be made by employees in addition to any regular or compulsory contributions which they may make to their pension scheme. AVCs are eligible for tax relief at the employee’s marginal rate of income tax in the same way as regular contributions subject to the application of the annual earnings and age-related percentage relief limits which determine the overall amount of contributions that can be relieved in any one year. AVCs are used to improve the retirement benefits of scheme members, over and above those provided by the scheme rules but within the limits provided for under Revenue rules. AVCs can be used, within the limits imposed by the Revenue Commissioners, to:
- Increase basic pension entitlements or provide benefits based on non-pensionable pay;
- Increase retirement lump sums, if possible;
- Provide or increase dependants' provisions on death in retirement.
In common with regular contributions to pension saving, AVCs are locked in and may emerge only as benefits on death, retirement or leaving service.
I have no plans to make alterations to the tax treatment of pension AVCs in the immediate future.
126. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Finance having regard for the failure of Irish banks, in State ownership or where the State has significant share holdings, his view on the need for the European Central Bank cuts in interest rates to be passed on to mortgage holders, the action he will take to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41542/12]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Banks policies in relation to lending rates is a matter for the boards and management of each institution. Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a significant shareholder in various institutions, I must ensure that the banks are run on a commercial, cost effective and independent basis to ensure the value of each bank as an asset to the State, as set out in the Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policies agreed with the EU Commission, the ECB and the IMF. Relationship Frameworks have been specified that define the nature of the relationship between the Minister for Finance and the banks. These Frameworks were published on 30 March 2012 and can be found at; http://banking.finance.gov.ie/presentations-and-latest-documents/. Ultimately the pricing of financial products, including standard variable mortgage interest rates, is a commercial decision for the management team and board of each bank, having due regard to their customers and the impact on profitability, particularly where the cost of funding to each bank, including deposit pricing, is under pressure. Neither the Central Bank nor the Department of Finance has a statutory function in relation to interest rate decisions made by individual lending institutions at any particular time.
127. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Finance the degree to which the European Central Bank interest rate reductions have been applied to business loans across the banks in which the State holds a significant shareholding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41543/12]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Banks’ policies in relation to lending rates are a matter for the boards and management of each institution. Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a significant shareholder in various institutions, I must ensure that the banks are run on a commercial, cost-effective and independent basis to ensure the value of each bank as an asset to the State, as set out in the Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policies agreed with the EU Commission, the ECB and the IMF. Relationship Frameworks have been specified that define the nature of the relationship between the Minister for Finance and the banks. These Frameworks were published on 30 March 2012 and can be found at; http://banking.finance.gov.ie/presentations-and-latest-documents/. The pricing of financial products, including business loans, is a commercial decision for the management team and board of each bank, having due regard to their customers and the impact on profitability, particularly where the cost of funding to each bank, including deposit pricing, is under pressure. Neither the Central Bank nor the Department of Finance has a statutory function in relation to interest rate decisions made by individual lending institutions at any particular time.
However, notwithstanding that, I have received the following input from the covered banks in response to your question:
PTSB:
I am informed by PTSB that it does not have a significant amount of business loans and therefore this question has little relevance to that institution.
AIB:
AIB doesn’t wholly fund itself via the ECB and so reductions in ECB rates don't necessarily lead to a reduction in funding costs for the bank. As part of the restructuring of the bank AIB is required to reduce its levels of ECB funding in exchange for retail / business deposits and historical wholesale market funding. In the case of business loans, most business loans in AIB reference EURIBOR or a form of EURIBOR (e.g. AIB's Business Loan Rate (BLR) is an average of 3 month's historic 3 month EURIBOR fixings). A liquidity premium and margin to cover cost of risk, operational costs and funding costs, is then added to this reference rate to arrive at a total interest rate for the customer. AIB keeps these rates under constant review.
IBRC:
The majority of IBRC’s commercial loan book references money market interbank offer rates – for Euro based loans, rates are set at a margin above EURIBOR and for sterling based loans interest rates are set as a margin above LIBOR. Changes in money market Interbank offer rates (i.e. LIBOR or EURIBOR) are applied to individual loan accounts in accordance with the contractual interest reset dates agreed with the borrower. Typically interest rates on IBRC commercial loans are scheduled to reset every month or every three months.
BOI:
Business lending by Bank of Ireland (BoI) is not linked to ECB rates and therefore BoI has not passed on recent ECB rate reductions on its standard variable rate small business loans. BoI sets interest rates on standard variable rate business loans with reference to BoI’s cost of funding.
Prior to 2008, the Bank’s cost of funding was directly linked to official interest rates (e.g. Euribor). When official interest rates moved, it was appropriate to pass on the benefit or cost of that movement to borrowers through the banks standard variable rate. Since 2008, BoI’s cost of funding has become disconnected from official market interest rates due to:
– the intense competition for customer deposits: as a result deposit rates have not reduced in line with reductions in official interest rates, and;
– the increased cost of issuing stable term wholesale funding, reflecting distressed market conditions, the reduced credit rating of BoI and the Sovereign and heightened concerns regarding the overall euro area.
The result of this disconnection is that the Bank’s cost of funding is no longer directly linked to official interest rates.
128. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Finance the total number of referrals to the Credit Review Office; the number of appeals that have overturned the original decision; the breakdown of this number by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41563/12]
View answerI have been informed by the Credit Review Office that it has received 202 formal applications since the establishment of the Office. Of these 10 are proceeding through the review process and 19 have been abandoned or withdrawn leaving 173 cases which in which the Office issued a recommendation. The Credit Review Office recommended that the applicant was granted credit in 95 cases or 55% and upheld the bank decision in the remaining 78 cases or 45%. I have previously spoken about the importance of challenging decisions to refuse credit and this overturn rate should encourage any SME or farm which is refused credit to seek the assistance of the Credit Review Office.
The geographical breakdown of the cases is as follows:
|
County |
Number |
|
Carlow |
2 |
|
Cavan |
5 |
|
Clare |
2 |
|
Cork |
17 |
|
Donegal |
6 |
|
Dublin |
62 |
|
Galway |
4 |
|
Kerry |
9 |
|
Kildare |
8 |
|
Kilkenny |
2 |
|
Laois |
5 |
|
Leitrim |
2 |
|
Limerick |
14 |
|
Longford |
5 |
|
Louth |
5 |
|
Mayo |
5 |
|
Meath |
8 |
|
Monaghan |
1 |
|
Offaly |
3 |
|
Roscommon |
1 |
|
Sligo |
1 |
|
Tipperary |
13 |
|
Northern Ireland |
1 |
|
Waterford |
5 |
|
Westmeath |
4 |
|
Wexford |
8 |
|
Wicklow |
4 |
|
- |
202 |
129. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Finance the progress made to date on setting up a Central Credit Register; when legislation on the matter will be published; when the register will be up and running; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41566/12]
View answerThe Credit Reporting Bill 2012 was published last Friday, 28th September 2012. It was a commitment under the EU/ECB/IMF Programme of Financial Support to have the Bill published before end September. When the Bill is enacted and the necessary tendering processes are finalised, the Central Credit Register will be established. It is not possible at this early stage to give an accurate timeframe for completion of this work.
130. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form the percentage of income tax paid in 2011 by the top 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 50% of earners. [41573/12]
View answer131. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form the percentage of income earned in 2011 by the top 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 50% of earners. [41574/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 131 together.
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the relevant information that is readily available at this time in respect of the top 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 50% of income earners is as estimated by reference to the income tax year 2012, and is set in the following table:
|
- |
Top 1% of income earners |
Top 5% of income earners |
Top 10% of income earners |
Top 20% of income earners |
Top 50% of income earners |
|
% of Income Tax Paid |
20% |
43% |
59% |
77% |
97% |
|
% of Gross income |
10% |
24% |
35% |
52% |
82% |
It should be noted that the figures for tax relate only to income tax and do not take account of additional liability to PRSI and Universal Social Charge.
The figures are estimates from the Revenue tax-forecasting model using actual data for the year 2009 adjusted as necessary for income and employment trends in the interim. These are, therefore, provisional and likely to be revised.
It should be noted that Gross Income is as defined in Revenue Statistical Report 2010.
A married couple who has elected or has been deemed to have elected for joint assessment is counted as one tax unit.
132. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance the annual interest payments on the national debt from 2007 to 2011; the projected annual interest payments on the national debt for 2012; the projected annual payments from 2013 to 2016; if these are inclusive of the promissory note payments, sinking fund contributions and debt management expenses; if not, if he will provide the annual projected costs for these for 2012 to 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41575/12]
View answerThe data requested by the Deputy for the period 2007-2015 is set out in the table. The current forecast horizon is out to 2015 and so forecasts post 2015 are not available at present. The 2012-2015 forecasts are taken from the Stability Programme Update published last April. I would also like to make the Deputy aware that my Department is currently updating its macroeconomic and fiscal forecasts and these figures will be published in mid-October. The Deputy might like to know that the data for Net Debt Service up to 2010 are contained in my Department’s Budgetary & Economic Statistics publication, the most recent edition of which was published in September 2011. The September 2011 and earlier editions of the BES are available on my Department’s website. I would also like to make the Deputy aware that my department will be publishing the 2012 BES within the next few days. The Net Debt Service figure for 2011 is taken from the accounts of the NTMA.
The figures for interest payments on the Promissory Notes are not accounted for as part of national debt servicing and are therefore shown separately in the table.
The figures supplied in the table indicate that the annual cost of servicing the National Debt is expected to continue to rise in the coming years as a result of the Debt increasing. This underlines how important it is that we continue to close the gap that still exists between our expenditures and our revenues through budgetary consolidation measures if we are to return the public finances to a sustainable position and protect future investment and growth.
|
Year End |
Net Debt Service* |
Accrued Interest on Promissory Note Payments** |
|
€ billions |
€ billions |
|
|
2007 |
2.14 |
0.00 |
|
2008 |
2.10 |
0.00 |
|
2009 |
3.21 |
0.00 |
|
2010 |
4.24 |
0.56 |
|
2011 |
5.38 |
0.01 |
|
2012 Forecast |
6.96 |
0.01 |
|
2013 Forecast |
7.80 |
1.90 |
|
2014 Forecast |
8.45 |
1.79 |
|
2015 Forecast |
8.90 |
1.68 |
* Net Debt Service encompasses debt interest, sinking fund & debt management expenses, as well as changes in assets of the Capital Services Redemption Accounts.
** Refers to accrued interest on EBS & IBRC Promissory Note.
133. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance apart from the recent case which has been referred to An Garda Síochána, if National Asset Management Agency has since its inception identified any other possible breaches of confidentiality whereby commercial agency belonging to the agency has been used or removed in an unauthorised fashion by an employee of the agency and, if so, if he will provide details of the number of such cases and if he will make a comprehensive statement of the action taken in each case. [41627/12]
View answerI am advised by NAMA that, apart from the recent case which has been referred to An Garda Síochána, it has not identified any other possible breaches of confidentiality involving an employee of the Agency. The Deputy may wish to also consider my response to a Parliamentary Question from Deputy Pearse Doherty (38531/12, 20th September 2012), which addresses the safeguards in place by NAMA to prevent breaches of confidentiality by existing and former NAMA employees.
134. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if the National Asset Management Agency has, since its inception, approved the sale of any property in the agency's portfolio to an employee or a direct family member of an employee of the agency; if so, if he will provide details of the number of such transactions which it has approved; if such properties were for sale on the open market and if he will provide details of the nature of the transactions concerned. [41628/12]
View answer135. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance altogether apart from the recent case which has been referred to An Garda Síochána, if the National Assets Management Agency has since its inception identified any other unapproved purchases of properties in the agency's portfolio by a serving or former employee of the agency; if so, if he will provide details of the number of such cases; and if he will make a statement on the action taken in each case. [41690/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 135 together.
I am informed by NAMA that it is aware of only one transaction involving the sale of property by a NAMA debtor to a former employee. The deputy maybe aware that the aforementioned employee did not disclose the transaction to NAMA at any time either prior to or following the transaction.
NAMA has also informed me that they have not approved any sales of property in the agency’s portfolio to an employee or a direct family member of an employee of the agency.
