Written Answers Nos. 248 - 266
248. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Finance where the money collected from the universal social charge is allocated to; the section that benefits from it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18900/13]
View answerThe Universal Social Charge (USC) was introduced in Budget 2011 and replaced the Health Levy and the Income Levy. It is a more equitable charge and has a wider base and a lower rate when compared to the combined impact of the Income and the Health Levies. Tax revenues are not generally assigned to particular areas of expenditure. Rather they are available, along with non-tax revenues, capital receipts as well as moneys sourced from borrowing to fund overall expenditure.
Regarding the sections that benefit from the Central Fund, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform published the “Revised Estimates for Public Services in 2013” on the 17th of April. This sets out the voted expenditure allocations for every Government Department and Office. Details of non-voted expenditure are listed in the notes to the Exchequer statement, published on the Department of Finance’s website on the second working day of each month.
249. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Finance the actions being taken to ensure that banks adequately engage with customers in relation to mortgage arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18906/13]
View answerThe Central Bank’s Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears applies to mortgage lending activities with borrowers in respect of their principal private residence in the State. Compliance with the Code is mandatory on all mortgage lenders regulated by the Central Bank. The Code provides a number of protections to borrowers. These include the establishment of a formal Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) to deal with mortgage customers who are in arrears or in pre-arrears, the establishment of a dedicated Appeals Support Unit and a separate internal appeals process by lenders to deal with individuals on a case by case basis. A copy of the Code is available on the Central Bank’s website www.centralbank.ie.
The Central Bank has advised that as soon as a borrower goes into arrears, a lender must communicate promptly and clearly with the borrower to establish in the first instance why the repayment schedule as per the mortgage contract, has not been adhered to. A lender must pro-actively encourage its borrowers to engage with them about financial difficulties which may prevent them from meeting their mortgage repayments. A lender must ensure that all communications about arrears and pre-arrears are provided to the borrower in a timely manner. All information relating to a lender’s handling of arrears and pre-arrears cases must be presented to the borrower in a clear and consumer friendly manner. The language used in communications must indicate a willingness to work with the borrower to address the situation and must be in plain English so that it is easily understood. Legal jargon must be avoided, where possible.
A lender must also prepare and make available to borrowers, an information booklet providing details of its MARP and this must include:
a) an explanation of its MARP, including the alternative repayment measures available to borrowers and outline in general terms, the lender’s criteria for assessing requests for alternative repayment measures;
b) a statement that the borrower will not be required to change from an existing tracker mortgage to another mortgage type;
c) information about the potential availability of relevant State supports such as mortgage interest relief or Mortgage Interest Supplement;
d) relevant contact points (i.e., the dedicated arrears contact points not the general customer service contact points); and
e) reference to relevant website(s) operated by the Money Advice and Budgeting Services (MABS).
The Deputy will be aware that on 13 March the Central Bank announced new measures to address mortgage arrears, including the publication of performance targets for the main mortgage banks and proposed changes to the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA). The new approach is aimed at ensuring banks offer and conclude sustainable solutions for their customers in arrears by setting specific performance targets and proposing revisions to provisioning standards. The Central Bank is also updating the CCMA so that it continues to provide protection to customers who cooperate with their bank while facilitating and promoting the resolution of arrears cases. Issues being considered in the review include:
- New safeguards to ensure borrowers are given sufficient warning before being classified as ‘non cooperating’;
- Changes to the contact levels permitted, while ensuring consumers are not subject to harassment;
- Transparency on resolution options so borrowers have a full understanding before making a decision; and
- Consideration on whether there is merit in allowing a lender to move a borrower in arrears off a tracker rate where the lender has offered an alternative arrangement which is more advantageous in the long term.
Further information on the review is available on www.centralbank.ie. The Central Bank expects to publish the revised Code before the end of May.
Question No. 250 answered with Question No. 177.
251. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the advice provided to homeowners, if any, of the respective percentage reduction that should be applied to their property value when valuing their property for the purposes on the local property tax where the only reliable comparable home values available to them are 2010 and/or 2011 property values recorded on the property price register; and the way such advice varies according to the location of the property. [19029/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that I have dealt comprehensively with previous Parliamentary Questions and Topical Debates from herself and from other public representatives on the question of property valuation for LPT purposes. I have sought to re-assure property owners by publicly stating on numerous occasions that where they make their property valuation in an honest and reasonable manner, whether they base that on Revenue’s own valuation guidance or some other means, that valuation will not be challenged by Revenue in accordance with its normal Customer Service Charter.
I have been informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the Central Statistics Office (CSO) monthly report, “The Residential Property Price Index” , provides guidance on establishing the percentage reduction to be applied to property values where the only reliable comparable home values available to them are 2010, 2011 or 2012. The CSO’s report is designed to measure the change in the level of prices paid for residential properties sold in Ireland and is compiled using data on mortgage drawdowns provided on a monthly basis from mortgage lending institutions. The report is based on the prices of properties that were actually sold and tracks percentage changes in values over time related to an index point set at January 2005. It does not, however, show average prices. Nor does it include cash based transactions.
The Revenue valuation guidance also uses the above CSO data to adjust for price changes in the interim. Consequently, using the Revenue valuation guidance will give property owners average indicative valuations based on the property type, age and location on an adjusted basis and can be relied on to assist property owners in determining the appropriate valuation band for their particular property. In conjunction with the Revenue guidance, the property owner should consider the specifics of his or her own property, for example, if the property has certain unique features, is smaller or larger than the average property in the area, or is in a significantly poor state of repair and these factors should be taken into account in the owner’s assessment of the valuation of the property.
The property price register details can also be used as a further source to help the owner determine the valuation band and this is the case even where the details from the prices register are potentially dated. It is particularly so given that the majority of properties will fall into valuation bands, with a range of €50,000 in each band, which means that property owners are not required to provide a precise value for their property. Therefore, if a person lives in a house similar to a house that was sold in 2010, applying the percentage reduction in property values for that area as set out in the CSO monthly Price Index report should give a reasonable basis for selecting a valuation band.
I am satisfied that using the Revenue valuation guidance along with the person’s own knowledge of their property and, considering these together with the property prices register, should allow the owner make an honest and reasonable assessment of the valuation band for their property.
252. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance his response to the proposal made in a newspaper article (details supplied) in relation to the deferral of mortgage debt. [19030/13]
View answerThe Government is very aware of the significant difficulties some homeowners are facing in meeting their mortgage obligations and it is committed to advancing appropriate measures to assist those mortgage holders who are experiencing real and genuine difficulty. Building on the 2011 ‘Keane Report’, the Central Bank, under its MARS project, has for some time been intensively working with lenders to ensure that they can offer a range of longer term forbearance options to their customers who are experiencing mortgage difficulty. The Deputy will be further aware that, on 13 March 2013, the Central Bank announced additional measures to address mortgage arrears, including the publication of performance targets for the main mortgage banks. This new approach is aimed at ensuring that banks offer and conclude sustainable solutions for their customers in arrears by setting specific performance targets and proposing revisions to provisioning standards.
Performance targets have been set for: ACC, AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC Bank Ireland, Permanent TSB, and Ulster Bank. The Central Bank will also, over the coming period, set targets for the conclusion of durable solutions and for the sustainability of such solutions. Arrangements will be put in place to audit and monitor progress made against these targets.
The overall objective of this process is to ensure banks offer, where it is appropriate to do so in the circumstances of an individual case, durable and sustainable solutions to their mortgage customers who are in arrears. In that regard, in addition to the existing forbearance arrangements such as term extensions or reduced payments that were being deployed, the Keane Report outlined other long term forbearance/resolution options such as split mortgages, sale by agreement, and trade down mortgages that could be utilized. The Report also recognised that lenders could develop other possible options in this area for use by their customers. The particular option suggested in the newspaper article would, in broad terms represent a payment holiday and extension of term for the borrowers involved.
It should be noted that in the latest Central Bank statistics on mortgage arrears published on 7 March, under the Central Bank’s own assessment of permanent resolution options, some 13,396 such restructures of primary dwelling homes were classified as term extension. The new Central Bank targets and associated auditing requirement will provide additional information on such restructures over the coming months.
253. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Finance the number of non-residential properties the National Asset Management Agency has control over in Waterford City and county following the liquidation of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation. [19055/13]
View answerNAMA advises that detail on the breakdown, by county, of the value of property securing NAMA’s loans is provided in its Annual Reports and Financial Statements for 2011, which is available on the NAMA website, www.nama.ie. Properties under the control of receivers or other insolvency professionals appointed by NAMA are listed on its website at http://www.nama.ie/about-our-work/properties-enforced/. The site allows for searches by both property type and country/area. In each instance, information about the firm dealing with the insolvency and its contact details are provided. Potential purchasers are encouraged to contact the receivers to obtain additional information on specific properties and to submit expressions of their interest to purchase.
In the case of property under the control of debtors, NAMA is precluded, under Section 202 of the NAMA Act 2009, from disclosing confidential information. Confidential information is specifically defined to include information relating to debtors. Furthermore, Section 99 of the Act provides that, on acquisition of a loan, NAMA takes over the obligations of the participating institution under the loan, one of which is the contractual duty of confidentiality which the debtor enjoyed while still a customer of the participating institution. Information about individual debtors or guarantors is also protected against disclosure by the Data Protection Acts with which NAMA must comply as a data controller. However, in cases where NAMA receives enquiries from potential purchasers about specific properties under the control of debtors, it can facilitate contact with a view to enabling sales transactions to take place.
For the Deputy’s information, as part of the Government’s decision on 7th February to appoint Special Liquidators (SL) to IBRC, it was decided that NAMA would acquire those loans which have not been sold after the SL have completed their current valuation and sales process. The SL is currently in the valuation stage of this process. NAMA has therefore not yet acquired any loans from the SL, nor has it any sight of those loans, and all such loans remain under the management of the SL until such time as the sales process has been completed.
254. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance his views on a matter regarding VAT (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19089/13]
View answerThe VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. The reduced VAT rate of 13.5% applies to the supply of gas and electricity in Ireland. The majority of EU Member States apply a much higher VAT rate to the supply of gas and electricity as EU VAT law provides that the standard VAT rate should apply to these services. However, as part of a derogation to EU VAT law, Ireland is entitled to retain a reduced rate to the supply of gas and electricity on the basis that we applied a reduced rate to the supply of domestic fuels on 1 January 1991. However, under this derogation the VAT rate may not be reduced below 12%.
While it is possible, therefore, to reduce the VAT rate on gas and electricity to 12%, this would have to apply to all activity currently applying at the 13% rate, as EU VAT law does not allow the application of three reduced VAT rates. Such a move would cost around €270m. I have no plans to reduce the 13.5% rate as this would be costly to the Exchequer.
While it is not possible under EU VAT law to make reductions based on the age profile of the customer, I would point out that the Department of Social Protection provide a household benefits package, which comprises an electricity or gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence to elderly people living permanently in the State. In terms of domestic fuels, such persons can decide to receive an electricity allowance credit of €35 each month or a gas allowance credit of €35 each month. People aged over 70 years of age can qualify regardless of their income or household composition. The package is also available to carers. Customers under the age of 70 who are in receipt of a qualifying payment and live alone or only with certain categories of people may also have an entitlement to the package. For those customers aged between 66 and 69 years and who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment, a means test must be satisfied to determine eligibility for the package.
255. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary question No. 216 of 16 April 2013, if he will confirm if the Sheriff is permitted to break into a person's home; if he is permitted to break in regardless of whether the person is at home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19124/13]
View answerThe Revenue Commissioners are committed to making it as easy as possible for all taxpayers to meet their tax compliance obligations. All taxpayers are afforded the opportunity to pay their outstanding tax liabilities before any such liabilities are referred for collection enforcement action. In the event that it is necessary to refer outstanding tax debts to the Sheriff for collection, I am informed that the Sheriffs make every effort to collect outstanding tax liabilities without utilising their powers of seizure. However, in circumstances where seizure of goods is necessary due to non-engagement by the taxpayer, the Sheriffs are legally authorised to use their powers to enforce collection of outstanding tax debts.
As I advised in my response to the Deputy’s previous Parliamentary Question on this issue (No. 216 on 16 April 2013), Sheriffs are Officers of the Court, who hold office under section 12 of the Court Officers Act 1945. A Sheriff’s debt collection activities, including seizure procedures, are governed by the Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1926 as amended, which allows that where necessary in execution of a warrant the Sheriff may enter any dwelling house or other building, regardless of whether the building is occupied or not, for the purpose of seizing goods, that are not exempt under the Act.
Section 12 of Enforcement of Court Order Acts 1926 provides as follows:
“(1) No action shall lie against an under-sheriff who has complied with the conditions hereinafter stated for or on account of his having entered or broken into any lands, house, close, or other premises for the purpose of taking in execution any goods, animals, or other chattels which were or might be on or in such lands, house, close, or premises, or for or on account of any injury occasioned to such lands, house, or premises by or in the course of such entry or breaking in.
(2) The conditions hereinbefore mentioned are:-
(a ) that before breaking into any dwelling-house or other building the under-sheriff shall make reasonable efforts to enter peaceably and without violence, and
(b ) where the under-sheriff breaks and enters the premises of a person other than the person against whom he has been called upon to enforce an execution order, he shall either have had reasonable grounds for believing that there were some goods, animals, or chattels of such last-mentioned person in such premises or he shall actually find some such goods, animals, or chattels in such premises".
256. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the extension of teachers' working hours in the Croke Park Agreement will cease and the old teaching hours return post recession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18511/13]
View answerUnder the Public Service (Croke Park) Agreement 2010 – 2014, teachers undertook to provide an additional hour per week to allow for a range of essential school activities, such as school planning, continuous professional development, induction, substitution and supervision (including supervision immediately before and after school times), to take place without reducing class contact/tuition time. It is the view of my Department that this additional time now constitutes part of the normal working terms and conditions of teachers.
257. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address the concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18784/13]
View answerI understand that for the FAS Medical Administration Traineeship a very strong emphasis is placed on informing the applicants at the outset about the qualification level and particularly the duration of the programme. The Traineeship is delivered over a 49 week period which includes 39 weeks In Centre and 10 weeks on the job work practice in a medical administration environment. Applicants are asked to highlight on a questionnaire, if they have any pre-planned arrangements that may interfere with their attendance at the programme. In order to make a full commitment to the programme this can result in applicants asking to have a place reserved on the next occurrence of the programme. The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 provides that employees are entitled to Annual Leave but the Act is limited to employees. There are a limited number of FÁS courses of this duration. The issue of the length of these courses and the potential for introducing further breaks in them are under consideration.
258. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there is any arrangement in place through FÁS to accept the work experience achieved abroad by apprentices who have had to leave here without completing their time and who now work in reputable companies in the same trade but outside of this State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19069/13]
View answerI understand that FÁS do not approve an apprentice to complete on-the-job phases of his/her apprenticeship with a company operating overseas unless the company has a registered office in the Republic of Ireland. However, in limited circumstances, apprentices who emigrate after completing all 7 phases of their apprenticeships, but who have not completed 4 years in employment with a FÁS approved employer as required for apprenticeship certification, can submit an application to FÁS under the "Recognition of Prior Learning" initiative for recognition of trade related employment overseas.
259. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that the pupil teacher ratio for English as an additional language, EAL, used to be 14:1; if he will indicate the ratio for the school year 2013/14; and if he has any concerns on this new ratio impacting negatively on literacy scores; if he will confirm the reductuion in the number of less EAL teachers there will be in schools in the next school year; and if he will provide a breakdown of the figures according to primary and post-primary. [18231/13]
View answerSince September 2012 the combined resources available for learning support (General Allocation Model at Primary) and language support at both primary and second level have been merged into a single simplified allocation process. There are currently over 4,700 such posts allocated to schools at primary level and 777 posts at post primary level. This includes the standard learning/language support allocation that is given to all schools and the additional support that is provided to schools that have high concentrations of pupils that require language support. Further additional temporary language support posts are provided on the basis of appeals to the Staffing Appeal Boards.
The need to reform the allocation of the General Allocation Model at primary level arose because the existing system operated primarily on the basis of 2003 enrolments which are long out of date and had been criticised by the Ombudsman for Children. Schools now have autonomy on how to deploy the resource between language support and learning support depending on their specific needs. The new single allocation for the General Allocation Model (GAM) and language support is based on the number of classroom teaching posts in each school in the previous school year. This simplified approach to (GAM) will make it easier to automatically update it annually in line with the changes in the number of classroom teachers in each school.
The allocation process for the 2013/14 school year is currently underway in my Department and the staffing arrangements, including the appeals process, have been published on the Department website. The final staffing position for all schools will not be known until later in the year when the allocation process will be fully completed and all appeals to the Staffing Appeal Boards will have been considered.
260. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider reversing the decision by his Department to stop the funding for an autistic child (details supplied) [18304/13]
View answerThe home tuition scheme provides a grant to parents to facilitate the provision of education at home for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting an educational placement and provide early education intervention for pre-school children with autism. My officials are liaising directly with the parent in question with a view to resolving the funding issue.
261. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who was given the benefit of a reader and waiver for the junior certificate may be given similar supports as they undertake their leaving certificate in view of the fact that the student has a broad based learning disability and will be without assistance unable to successfully negotiate the challenge of the leaving certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18364/13]
View answerState Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate examinations. Applications for such accommodations are submitted by schools on behalf of their students. Full details of the scheme is available for downloading from their website: www.examinations.ie/candidates/reasonableaccommodations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
262. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a decision will be made for the application by a school for resource hours and a classroom assistant in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cavan; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the delay in making a decision in same is affecting the child in view of the fact that they has significant learning difficulties that urgently require assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18369/13]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports including resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.
All schools were advised to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2012/13 school year by 16th March, 2012 and have been advised by the NCSE of their allocation for the current school year. In addition, schools were requested to submit outstanding applications for resource teaching support for the 2012/13 school year by 5th October. In relation to SNA support, whereas all qualifying schools were given an allocation of SNA support in advance of the school year, it has been open to schools to apply to the NCSE for additional SNA support where they subsequently enrolled new pupils with special educational needs who were not considered at the time that these allocations were made, or where new medical conditions have arisen in the interim.
Schools have been advised to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2013/14 school year by 15th March 2013, and schools will be notified by SENOs of their resource teaching and SNA allocation for 2013/14 in advance of the coming school year, based on the number of valid applications received. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.
263. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) in County Westmeath will be provided with a language support teacher; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18384/13]
View answerThe Government has protected frontline services in schools to the greatest extent possible in the recent budget and there will be no reduction in teacher numbers in primary schools for the 2013/14 school year as a result of the budget. The DEIS scheme for disadvantaged schools is also fully protected with no overall changes to staffing levels or funding as a result of the budget. The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on my Department's website. The staffing arrangements for the 2013/14 school year (Circular 0013/2013) were published in February and are available on the website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September.
The staffing arrangements set out in Circular 0013/2013 also include an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an appeal under the EAL criterion. The Board rejected the appeal at its meeting on the 27th/28th March 2013. The school has been notified in this regard. The Appeal Board operates independently of the Minister and the Department and its decision is final.
264. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills when additional accommodation in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Westmeath will be completed. [18387/13]
View answerOn 27th March 2013, the school referred to by Deputy was allocated funding on a devolved basis for the provision of two mainstream classrooms. A devolved project allows individual school authorities the means to address their approved accommodation and building priorities with a guaranteed amount of funding and gives them day to day control of their building project. It is a central tenet of the devolved schemes that responsibility for the management of a project, including cost control, start and completion dates, rests with the school authority. Details of all devolved school building projects are available on my Department's website at www.education.ie.
265. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for a secondary school (details supplied) in County Westmeath.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18388/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, in June 2011, I announced that 20 new post-primary schools are to be established in the coming years across a number of locations to meet significantly increasing demographics in those areas. This announcement did not include a proposal to establish a new post-primary school in the area referred to by the Deputy. The Forward Planning Section of my Department will continue to analyse demographic trends to determine the level of additional school provision which will be required into the future. Overall school requirements in the area referred to by the Deputy will be fully considered in this context.
266. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the building unit of his Department has met with the principal and/or the board of management with regard to identifying a suitable site for a school (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18509/13]
View answerThe process of identifying suitable sites for education purposes takes account of a range of factors, including the demographic analysis produced by my Department, any existing applications for capital investment from schools in the area, the Development Plan for the area and the technical guidance documents issued by my Department regarding school design and site suitability. Given the sensitivities associated with land acquisition generally, it is not my Department's usual practice to liaise directly with school authorities in relation to the acquisition of particular sites.
However, I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is working closely with Wicklow County Council in relation to ensuring that suitable land is acquired to cater for both the immediate and longer term educational requirements of the area to which he has referred. This is under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the County and City Managers' Association in 2012. Following a process to identify a suitable site, Wicklow County Council has engaged with a landowner with a view to acquiring a site in the area for the development of school buildings. In this context, I can confirm to the Deputy that the school to which he refers is among those in the area which is included on the Five Year construction programme which I announced in March 2012.
