Written Answers Nos. 218 - 236
218. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 90 of 16 January 2013, if he will provide the figures for Irish hauliers who purchase their diesel abroad; the rate hauliers contribute to the economy here through diesel in comparison to the coach and bus operators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4554/13]
View answerI am advised that excise duty is applied to auto-diesel when it is released from a tax warehouse, the Revenue Commissioners; therefore, do not have data on the end use of auto-diesel. However, an ESRI study estimated that the haulage industry accounted for some 735 million litres of auto-diesel with passenger vehicles accounting for approximately 35 million litres.
219. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if members of staff at the National Treasury Management Agency are exempt from the standard practice of a cooling off period for senior civil servants moving from public sector into private sector employment; if this is true, the reason such an exemption applies; the number of staff that have transferred from the NTMA to the private sector in the past four years, by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3709/13]
View answerThe Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour contains provisions regarding acceptance of outside appointments and of consultancy engagement following resignation or retirement. This code does not apply to directors or employees in State bodies in the wider public service. I am informed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) that the number of employees who have resigned from the NTMA since 2009 is as set out in the table below -
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
3 |
4 |
18 |
24 |
9* |
*Includes staff who have submitted their resignation and are serving their notice period.
I am also informed by the NTMA that its employees have notice periods of one or three months and six months in the case of the Chief Executive. All NTMA employees are subject to section 14 of the National Treasury Management Agency Act, 1990 which prohibits an employee from disclosing any information obtained while carrying out their duties as employees of the NTMA. NTMA employees are also subject to the Official Secrets Act. I am informed by the NTMA that contravention of the NTMA Act and the Official Secrets Act is a criminal offence and that the prohibition on disclosing confidential information applies indefinitely and extends to former employees. I understand the Chief Executive of the Agency is reviewing NTMA policy in this area.
220. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance in view of the fact that he is the owner of 15% of the ordinary shares in Bank of Ireland, and owner of preference shares most recently valued at €1.473 billion, if he will confirm if the recent disposal by him of €1 billion contingent capital notes was in the interests of Bank of Ireland; and if so, if he will provide the basis for this position. [3712/13]
View answer221. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide the overall costs incurred by Bank of Ireland in the recent disposal by him of €1 billion contingent capital notes. [3713/13]
View answer222. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm the date on which the €1 billion contingent capital notes were first offered to the market. [3714/13]
View answer223. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance following the recent disposal of €1 billion contingent capital notes, if he received advice as to the optimum period over which the CCNs should have been marketed before any sale was closed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3715/13]
View answer224. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance following the recent disposal of €1bn contingent capital notes in Bank of Ireland, if he will outline the involvement in the disposal, of the former head of the Shareholder Management Unit in the Department of Finance (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3716/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 220 to 224, inclusive, together.
As announced by my Department on January 9th, the State was successful in disposing of its entire €1 billion holding of Contingent Capital Notes (CCNs) in Bank of Ireland (BOI). The transaction was a very positive outcome for the State on a number of levels. It will enable us to reduce our indebtedness, it has had a positive impact on investor sentiment and it has also helped to underpin the value of our remaining banks investments. The transaction also reflects positively on Bank of Ireland, as will any further such disposals by the State in the future. Exit by the State over time from its bank investments is Government policy and the eventual separation of the State from the banking sector is an objective for which there is strong support across the political spectrum.
As I have stated before, the sale was managed by officials in the Department’s Shareholder Management Unit, with many years' experience working in financial markets. Having established at the outset that there was sufficient demand to secure an underwriting position from the investment banks, the date the CCNs were offered to the market was January 9th, 2013 the day the book build process began. In response to your question on the optimum period of marketing for the CCNs, it is important to recognise that Bank of Ireland had been active in the market in both November and December raising €1.0bn through the issuance of an Asset Covered Securities (ACS) bond and €250m of subordinated debt. This meant that investors were fully up to speed with the bank’s investment proposition by the time the State looked to execute its own transaction.
On the issue of the involvement of the former head of the Shareholder Management Unit, the officer went on holidays to Australia on 12 December, 2012 and did not return to the Department until January 14th, 2013 at which time he tendered his resignation and in accordance with normal practice will not take up duty in the banks for another two months. Hence there is effectively a cordon sanitaire in operation for three months in this instance. Finally I have been informed by the Bank that they are not in a position to provide the costs incurred in the recent disposal of the CCNs as it is commercially sensitive.
225. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to the appointment that he announced and welcomed, of the former head of the Shareholder Management Unit (details supplied) to a position at Bank of Ireland, if he will set out the assessment that has taken place in his Department of their knowledge of the workings of Allied Irish Banks and Permanent TSB acquired in their former position; and if this knowledge may give Bank of Ireland an unfair advantage in Irish banking sector competition. [3717/13]
View answer226. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to the appointment of the former head of the Shareholder Management Unit, to a position at Bank of Ireland (details supplied), his views, as the holder of 99.8% of the shares in Allied Irish Banks, on any damage to the prospects of AIB occasioned by the appointment. [3718/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 225 and 226 together.
On the issue of the involvement of the former head of the Shareholder Management Unit, the officer went on holidays to Australia on 12 December, 2012 and did not return to the Department until January 14th, 2013 at which time he tendered his resignation and in accordance with normal practice will not take up duty in the banks for another two months. Hence there is effectively a cordon sanitaire in operation for three months in this instance. All civil servants are subject to a number of confidentiality clauses, these also apply to NTMA staff seconded to the Department. I can confirm that the official has signed the following documents:-
(1) Official Secrecy and Integrity Circular15/1979
(2) Freedom of Information Circular 7/98
(3) Official Secrecy: Budget Preparations Circular 27/95
(4) Software Use, Acquisition and Management Policy Office Notice 04/02
(5) Department of Finance Information and Communications Technology Usage Policy Summary Office Notice 01/2006
All these give further protection around the confidentiality of information involved.
227. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the par value of loans sold by Anglo Irish Bank in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011; the amount realised by territory for the South of Ireland, the North of Ireland, Britain, USA and other international regions; and the number of loan books, portfolios and individual loans to which the sales related. [3719/13]
View answer228. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form, the par value of loans sold by Irish Nationwide Building Society in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011; the amount realised by territory for the South of Ireland, the North of Ireland, Britain, USA and other international regions; and the number of loan books, portfolios and individual loans to which the sales related. [3720/13]
View answer229. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the par value of loans sold by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation in 2011 and 2012; the amount realised by territory for the South of Ireland, the North of Ireland, Britain, USA and other international regions; and the number of loan books, portfolios and individual loans to which the sales related. [3721/13]
View answer230. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance in tabular form, the par value of loans sold by Bank of Ireland in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, the amount realised by territory for the South of Ireland, the North of Ireland, Britain, USA and other international regions and the number of loan books; portfolios and individual loans to which the sales related. [3722/13]
View answer231. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the par value of loans sold by Allied Irish Banks in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012; the amount realised by territory for the South of Ireland, the North of Ireland, Britain, USA and other international regions; and the number of loan books, portfolios and individual loans to which the sales related. [3723/13]
View answer232. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the par value of loans sold by the Educational Building Society in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012; the amount realised by territory for the South of Ireland, the North of Ireland, Britain, USA and other international regions; and the number of loan books, portfolios and individual loans to which the sales related. [3724/13]
View answer233. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form, the par value of loans sold by Permanent TSB in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012; the amount realised by territory for the South of Ireland, the North of Ireland, Britain, USA and other international regions; and the number of loan books, portfolios and individual loans to which the sales related. [3725/13]
View answer234. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the par value of loans sold by the National Asset Management Agency in 2010, 2011 and 2012; the original covered bank to have provided the loan; the amount realised by territory for the South of Ireland, the North of Ireland, Britain, USA and other international regions; and the number of loan books, portfolios and individual loans to which the sales related. [3726/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 227 to 234, inclusive, together.
The sale of loan portfolios is a commercial matter for the management and the Board of the Institutions. I have a limited role in this function. The sales prices for various portfolios and individual loans are a matter of confidentiality between the parties. It is normal course of practice that sales processes are conducted under appropriate confidentiality constraints in order to protect the interests of all parties.
It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors of each institution to ensure that adequate and appropriate disclosures are provided regarding financial position and performance. Therefore, such disclosures are provided through the financial statements of each institution in the context of the needs of those users and the particular business activities and risk exposures of the Institutions. To this end, the institutions provide detailed disclosures in their Annual Reports, trading statements, interim management reports, press releases and Pillar III regulatory return disclosures. The Institutions have also, where applicable as part of their investor relations programmes and Stock exchange requirements, produced detailed loan sale disclosures to which the deputy may wish to refer.
In particular, as relates to NAMA, the disclosure of additional information other than what is publically available would contravene Section 99 and 202 of the NAMA Act and adversely affect the competitive process and the agency's objective of achieving the best outcome for the taxpayer.
Deleveraging of the Banking system has progressed well. Deleveraging of €53.1bn has been achieved by Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Bank of Ireland (BOI) and Permanent TSB from 31 December 2010 to 30 November 2012. Individual losses on loans have not been disclosed by the banks due to commercial sensitivities and confidentiality of information, however the Pillar Banks where disposals have been concentrated, have disclosed that overall cumulative discounts incurred have been within PCAR assumed discounts. From a capital perspective, the loss incurred on the divestment of these assets is broadly offset by a reduction in the level of risk weighted assets.
The on-going progress in deleveraging and deposit gathering activities has seen BOI make further progress towards improving its Loan to Deposit (LDR) ratio, reducing from 136% at June 2012 to less than 130% in November 2012. Similarly, AIB's LDR reduced to less than 120% at the end of October (including loans held for sale) from 125% at end of June.
235. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance in view of the fact that he is the sole shareholder in 100% of the shares in the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, if IBRC allows defaulting debtors to buy back assets; and if he will provide an assessment of the losses that IBRC would potentially incur if it were to prohibit the sale of assets such as loans and underlying security such as real estate property to defaulting debtors. [3727/13]
View answerI have been advised that it is not possible to compile the type of information requested by the Deputy. The overriding mandate of IBRC is to maximise the recovery of loans on behalf of the State and to wind down over time. It is Bank policy that the execution of any asset or loan disposals is conducted on a competitive open market basis and in accordance with prevailing market norms for the asset class and jurisdiction. An impartial process is assured through the appointment of independent professional agents or brokers to conduct the sales process. I have been informed that the vast majority of asset and loan disposals are transacted with independent third parties. Any sale that does involve a bid from a connected party to the original borrower or to a party with an existing equity interest is subject to elevated and multi-faceted governance approval processes. In all cases, the clear objective is to achieve the highest possible recovery.
236. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm the number of employee tax credit certificates for 2013 that have been issued to date to employers; if he will confirm the number that are still outstanding; the reason certain tax credit certificates have yet to be issued; and if he will confirm the basis on which employees in respect of whom a certificate has not been issued will be taxed until the 2013 certificate is issued. [3826/13]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that in accordance with normal practice all employers were issued with 2013 tax credit certificates for their employees in mid-December 2012. This consisted of almost 2.3 million certificates. These certificates are issued as a priority to employers to ensure that they have the correct tax credit details upon which to base tax deductions from the first pay dates in the new year. I am further informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, according to their records, all employer copies of tax credit certificates for 2013 have issued and they are not aware of, nor have they been informed of, any problems encountered by employers in obtaining details of the correct tax credits for their employees for this year. The Deputy should be aware that the vast bulk of employee certificates are issued to employers electronically via ROS, which is Revenue's Online Service.
Where an employer has not received new tax credit certificates for 2013 for their employees, the PAYE & USC Regulations provide that they should base the PAYE and USC deductions on the specific tax credits and the tax and USC rate bands that operated for each employee during the previous year, in this case for 2012, and that they should continue to do so until they obtain the 2013 tax certificates. If the Deputy has the case of a specific employer in mind, the Revenue Commissioners advise me that if details are supplied they will have the matter looked into immediately.
