Written Answers Nos. 189-211
189. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance of the ten persons, commonly known together as the Maple 10 or Anglo Golden Circle, if he will confirm the number of persons that continue to have outstanding loans at the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation; if these persons have currently outstanding loans other than those related to the Maple 10 transaction. [22365/13]
View answer190. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance of the ten loans provided to the group commonly known together as the Maple 10 or Anglo Golden Circle, if he will confirm the number of loans which were provided originally on a recourse basis, but which were subsequently changed to non-recourse loans. [22366/13]
View answer191. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance of the ten loans provided to the group commonly known together as the Maple 10 or Anglo Golden Circle, if he will confirm the total of all repayments made and the current outstanding balance including interest and any other charges. [22367/13]
View answer192. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance of the ten loans provided to the group commonly known together as the Maple 10 or Anglo Golden Circle, if he will confirm the number of loans on which the bank has initiated court proceedings to recover sums outstanding. [22368/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 189 to 192, inclusive, together.
The Special Liquidators have informed me that they are not in a position to comment on individual cases. I have been advised that the information requested is confidential and that it would not be appropriate for the Special Liquidators to release such information.
193. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the reason the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation borrowers will be eligible to buy their own loans at less than par value when such loans over €10m are offered to the market imminently, but that borrowers at the National Asset Management Agency are precluded by the NAMA Act from buying their own loans at below par value. [22369/13]
View answerAs previously advised, independent third parties are being engaged to independently value the loan assets of IBRC (in Special Liquidation). There is an obligation on the Special Liquidators to ensure that assets of IBRC are sold at a price that is equal to or in excess of the independent valuations that are being obtained. A process is currently being finalised that ensures that maximum value is extracted from the loan sales. The Special Liquidators are responsible for putting in place a liquidation process which fulfils their obligation under the IBRC Act and where applicable the Companies Acts. It is a matter for the Special Liquidators to determine what bidders constitute qualifying bidders for the purposes of the sales process. The protocol which is in place for the disposal of the IBRC assets is guided in a specified manner as the Special Liquidator will only be holding the assets for a limited period of time. Any assets that are not sold to third parties for a value higher than the independent valuations will be sold to NAMA at that price. Assets that are transferred to NAMA will then be subject to the protocol according to the NAMA Act 2009.
It is the objective of NAMA in any loan sale to achieve its commercial mandate of obtaining the best financial return on behalf of the State. In accordance with the NAMA Act procedures have been put in place by the Agency to achieve these objectives.
194. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm the sums paid by the National Asset Management Agency to each of the ratings agencies Fitch, Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s and Dominion Bond Rating Service in each of 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013. [22370/13]
View answerRating agency costs relating to NAMA are, in the main, paid by the NTMA as part of its overall sovereign rating programme. NAMA directly bears the cost arising from the rating of NAMA Bonds by Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS). NAMA advises that the terms of its agreement with DBRS are commercially sensitive and of a confidential nature.
195. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 208 and 210 of 23 April 2013, if he will confirm by year, separately, the salary and benefits and total remuneration of the Financial Regulator for 2010, 2011 and 2012. [22371/13]
View answerI am informed by the Central Bank that the salary of the current Deputy Governor (Financial Regulation), Matthew Elderfield, is €340,000 per annum which represents a reduction of 15% on his original salary of €400,000 on his appointment in January 2010. The Central Bank’s Annual Report for 2010 shows that in 2010, the Deputy Governor also received a fully taxable relocation fee of €75,000 and a delegate’s allowance of €299. In addition rent subsidy of €5,400 and relocation expenses of €6,670 were paid.
The terms of the contract agreed with the Deputy Governor provided for a performance related payment of €100,000 payable on review of performance at the end of the third year of the contract. The Deputy Governor agreed to defer the payment of any possible performance related bonus, which was due in January 2013, as part of his terms and conditions of employment agreed, until the end of his employment with the Bank.
The Deputy Governor has subsequently advised the Commission of the Central Bank that he has waived his €100,000 bonus entitlement at the end of his contract of employment.
196. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 79 of 1 May 2013, if the increase in the State’s shareholding of the ordinary shares in Allied Irish Banks as a result of receiving the €280m dividend in kind rather than in cash, will affect the stock exchange listing status of AIB. [22372/13]
View answerAllied Irish Banks (AIB) announced on 24 April 2013 that the annual cash dividend of €280 million on the €3.5 billion 2009 Non Cumulative Preference Shares held by the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission (NPRFC) on behalf of the Irish State, due 13 May 2013 will not be paid. As a result AIB becomes obliged to issue and allot ordinary shares to the NPRFC in accordance with the Bank’s Articles of Association. The number of Bonus Shares to be issued will be calculated by dividing the unpaid dividend amount of €280m on the 2009 Preference Shares by the average price on an ordinary share over the period of thirty days trading immediately preceding the annual dividend date. The final amount of Bonus Issue of ordinary shares will therefore be announced in due course. However as the Irish State, through the NPRFC already own 99.8% of the ordinary shares of AIB, the increase in ownership as a result of these new bonus shares is likely to be marginal.
The payment of the dividend in shares is not expected to have any effect on the stock exchange listing status of AIB.
197. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the reason he has not been obliged to make an offer for all outstanding shares in Allied Irish Banks and Permanent TSB in view of his shareholding in both banks, 99.8% in the former and 99.5% in the latter. [22373/13]
View answerThe recapitalisation of Allied Irish Banks (“AIB”) was effected through the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission (“NPRFC”). Section 15A(4) of the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000 (the “Act”, inserted by the Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009) provides that nothing done on behalf of the NPRFC for the purposes of a “relevant acquisition” constitutes an offer or takeover bid or similar transaction for the purposes of the Irish Takeover Panel Act 1997, the Irish Takeover Rules or the European Communities (Takeover Bids (Directive 2004/25/EC)) Regulations 2006 (together “Irish Takeover Law”). A “relevant acquisition” is an acquisition of an interest in a credit institution by the NPRFC resulting from a direction under 19A of the Act. All of the investments in AIB made by the NPRFC were directed investments pursuant to Section 19A of the Act, and were therefore also “relevant acquisitions”. Accordingly the mandatory bid requirements set out in Irish Takeover Law did not apply to the NPRFC’s investments in AIB.
The recapitalisation of Irish Life and Permanent Group Holdings plc (now Permanent tsb Group Holdings plc) took place pursuant to the making of a Direction Order of the High Court dated 26 July 2011 pursuant to the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010 (the “Direction Order ”). In connection with the Direction Order the Irish Takeover Panel granted a waiver of the requirement to make a mandatory cash offer for the entire issued share capital of Irish Life and Permanent Group Holdings plc.
Rule 9 of the Irish Takeover Rules provides that the requirement to make a mandatory cash offer for the remaining issued share capital of a relevant company will not apply to a single holder of securities (including the concert parties of such holder) who holds securities which confer more than 50% of the voting rights of that relevant company.
198. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm by year for each of end of 2010, end of 2011, end of 2012 and currently, the number of extant banking licences issued to banks operating in the International Financial Services Centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22374/13]
View answerThe total number of credit institutions registered in Ireland is 437. A full list of authorised credit institutions is available on the Central Bank website at http://registers.centralbank.ie/DownloadsPage.aspx. It is difficult to clearly demarcate which banks participate in international financial services activity based solely on location in the International Financial Services Centre. The Central Bank has identified the key international financing operations which it considers to be IFSC type banking activities i.e. wholesale institutions carrying out non-retail banking activity. The number of wholesale institutions licensed for non-retail banking activities on 31 December 2010 was 30; on 31 December 2011 there were 26; and on 31 December 2012 there were 24. The current number of wholesale institutions licensed for non-retail banking activities is 22.
199. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm that the Central Bank of Ireland is considering outsourcing security for the bank's operations; if all security operations, or specific activities are being outsourced; the value of the contract that is being offered; the way it is being tendered and the closing date for tendering; the cost of the tendering process; the savings of net cost to the State of outsourcing security; if there will be job losses at the Central Bank of Ireland as a result of this. [22396/13]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that the Central Bank is not in a position to disclose or discuss the details of its security model or operations. However, security operations are reviewed regularly to ensure they operate to current best practices and in the most effective and efficient manner. In addition, as is the case with all business operations, in the event that there were to be any changes that were to impact on staff, the Bank is committed to engaging through normal consultative channels.
200. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Finance the payments that have been made by tobacco manufacturers in each of the past five years for breaches of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Revenue Commissioners and tobacco companies here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22405/13]
View answerI take it that the Deputy is referring to the payments that are made to Ireland under the international agreements entered into by four major tobacco manufacturers, the European Union and Member States. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the payments made to Ireland under those agreements in the years 2008 to 2012 are set out in the following table.
Payments to Ireland under international tobacco agreements
|
Year |
Total Payments Received |
|
2008 |
€959,703 |
|
2009 |
€907,329 |
|
2010 |
€1,224,025 |
|
2011 |
€1,325,364 |
|
2012 |
€694,558 |
201. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he will investigate the reason persons who had registered and paid the household charge did not receive their local property tax return forms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22407/13]
View answerA key aspect of the work undertaken by Revenue in the implementation of the Local Property Tax (LPT) was the development of a comprehensive register of residential properties in the State. The register was developed using data drawn from a range of sources including Revenue’s own databases, the Household Charge database from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), Non-Principal Private Residence Charge data, Private Residential Tenancies Board data, information from the Department of Social Protection, and data from utility companies. As I previously indicated to the House, the Register was used to issue LPT correspondence to property owners. I am advised that there are a number of possible reasons why property owners who registered for and paid the Household Charge did not receive a LPT Return. These include:
- The version of the Household Charge database that was used to create the LPT Register was updated to January 2013. Properties which were added to the database after this date would not have been provided to Revenue. Revenue now has a more up-to-date version of the Household Charge database and will be using that to refresh the LPT Register in due course.
- The Household charge database included properties not liable for LPT – for example, bedsits – which were not added to the LPT Register.
- Where a property was identified as being in the ownership of a local authority or approved housing body, these were excluded from the general issue of LPT Returns to property owners.
- Returns were issued to the owner’s address held on Revenue’s system. In some cases this may have been different to the owner’s address recorded on the Household Charge database.
- In some cases it was not possible to identify the relevant owner of the property from the Household Charge database. For example, in some instances the charge on a property was paid using a payment card in a different name, in which case the data supplied to Revenue was the payer's name, not the owner's.
Given the complexity of the process of developing the LPT Register from scratch through the matching of multiple data sources, it was always likely that in a small number of cases, people would either receive an LPT Return in error or, possibly not receive one at all. I am satisfied that the Revenue Commissioners forewarned taxpayers about this.
In particular, for those who had not received an LPT Return, Revenue has been highlighting in its extensive media campaign that as LPT is a self-assessed tax, in common with other self-assessed taxes certain responsibilities rest with the taxpayer even where they have not received a communication from Revenue.
I have also re-enforced that point to the House on a number of occasions, most recently in my replies to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 87 (20652/13) and 92 (20686/13) on 1 May, that liable persons who have not yet received a Return from Revenue must still self-assess the amount of LPT due, complete and file their LPT Return, and pay the tax due. They should contact the LPT helpline 1890 200 255 or they can login to LPT online at www.revenue.ie and file a return by clicking on the "I have not received a Property PIN" tab. There is good evidence that people are responding to the message.
The process of ensuring that the LPT Register is as accurate and complete as possible will be an ongoing one, given the scale of the task, and will continue beyond the online return filing deadline. I am satisfied that the continuing work of the Commissioners will ensure that all residential property owners are registered for the tax.
202. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify a person's liability for the local property tax (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22438/13]
View answerThe case referred to by the Deputy refers to a property which has been adapted for a person with a disability. The precise circumstances are not clear from the information supplied but I will outline the exemption and relief which may be available. I refer the Deputy also to my detailed reply to similar questions, No. 115 on 27 March (15664/13) and No. 231 on 16 April (16212/13). Section 10B of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended, provides that a permanently and totally incapacitated person is exempt from payment of LPT where the property is occupied as his/her sole or main residence and where he/she has received a personal injury compensation, either from a court or the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, or is a beneficiary under a qualifying trust.
Where this exemption does not apply, Section 15A of the Act as amended provides for a reduction in the market value of a residential property that has been adapted for occupation by a disabled person, as defined within Section 2 of the Disability Act 2005, where the adaptation has been grant-aided or approved for grant aid by a local authority under either of the following: (1) Housing (Adaptation Grants for older people and people with disabilities) Regulations 2007; or (2) Regulation 4 of the Housing (Disabled Persons and Essential Repairs Grants) Regulations 2001.
The person with the disability must occupy the property as his or her sole or main residence after the adaptation is completed. The reduction in value is limited to the lesser of the chargeable value attributable to the adaptation work carried out on the property and the maximum grant payable under the relevant local authority scheme. The relief ends on the sale or transfer of a property that has been adapted, unless the person with the disability continues to reside in the property. Full details are available on www.revenue.ie.
If the Deputy wishes, he can supply me with further details in regard to the person in question, so that Revenue can investigate the exact circumstances and revert. Alternatively, the person may contact Revenue directly by calling the LPT helpline on 1890 200 255, by writing to Revenue, LPT Branch, P.O. Box 1, Limerick or by email to lpt@revenue.ie.
203. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Finance if statistics from the local property tax collected by the Revenue Commissioners will be made available for academic purposes such as geographers and academics as mentioned by the chairperson's recent comments in the media; when he expects this information to be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22481/13]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they have adopted a very open approach in their work on implementing the Local Property Tax (LPT) to date. In creating its valuation guidance, Revenue consulted widely with academic and other researchers in the field of property valuation. Revenue engaged geo-specialist consultants from an academic institution in Ireland to assist in creating the database used for valuation purposes. In addition to publishing valuation guidance application on its website, Revenue also made the data used in the guidance application available to researchers, businesses and the public. This enables any interested party to map the average valuations in the Revenue guidance through their own mapping software or spatial analysis tools. The same data are also available in hard copy paper format for those without internet access.
Aside from valuation guidance related statistics, since the launch of the LPT campaign in March Revenue has provided regular updates on returns filed and this type of update will continue. The Commissioners also expect to be in a position later in the year to make publicly available further information on return filing and payment compliance levels, as well as property valuation patterns on a geographical basis.
It is clear to me that Revenue has adopted an open approach to working with academic and interested parties in the implementation of the LPT and I am advised that they will continue to evaluate options for sharing statistics and data as appropriate and feasible over the coming months as the LPT progresses, consistent with ensuring that taxpayer confidentiality is protected.
204. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to any proposal to partly fund the Poolbeg incinerator project through loans from the National Pension Reserve Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22659/13]
View answerThe National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), as Manager of the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF), does not comment on potential investments for reasons of commercial confidentiality. For various reasons not all opportunities considered by the NPRF necessarily result in an investment. Where the NPRF does ultimately make an investment commitment, these are detailed each year in the Portfolio of Investments section of its Annual Report and where significant are announced at the time.
205. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Finance if he will advise on the attached (details supplied) regarding capital gains tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22698/13]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that one of their officers has spoken to the taxpayer to discuss his particular tax issues. The options available were explained and it has been arranged that the taxpayer’s agent will contact the Revenue officer directly for any further clarification necessary.
206. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the continuing problems faced by home-owners in fairly valuing their properties for the purposes of the local property tax whereby early registers have based their valuations on the property price register data available at the time but later registers have based their valuations on later updates on the property price register, resulting in persons with virtually identical properties making two different returns and paying different rates under the LPT; his views on whether it is fair that two neighbours with very similar homes pay different LPT amounts purely on the basis of the information that is available to them at the time of their registration; and the way he proposes to address such inequities. [22699/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that I have dealt comprehensively with previous questions, both written and in Topical Debates, from herself and from other public representatives on the question of property valuation for Local Property Tax (LPT) purposes. I disagree that continuing problems are being faced by people in fairly valuing their properties. Property owners have already filed in excess of 700,000 LPT Returns and have made their self-assessment of the valuation band in the course of filing these Returns. I am satisfied that the arrangements are working very well and property owners are engaging fully with their LPT obligations.
Based on the information provided by the Deputy in this question, it is not possible to provide a definitive reply to the issues raised. However, the following will be of relevance.
As previously advised, the Revenue Commissioners have provided on their website and in their “Guide to LPT” a variety of sources to help property owners establish the market value for their residential property. This includes the Residential Property Price Register as well as other property websites and information from local estate agents and newspapers. Revenue’s online interactive valuation guidance provides average indicative valuations for residential properties, based on the property type, age and location and uses data from the Residential Property Price Index (produced by the Central Statistics Office) to adjust for property price changes. Given that property prices have broadly stabilised in recent months, any recent changes in values are small, therefore the Revenue valuation guidance offers a very good starting point to identifying current market prices for property owners.
I am further advised that the Residential Property Price Register provides sales prices for residential properties sold since 2010 and is updated regularly, to include more recent sales of properties. The Property Price Register shows the date of sale and property owners can use this date to judge how useful a sale is in assisting them in valuing their residential property. Clearly, the more recent the sales details, the better for the property owners in making their self-assessments. In addition, for the purposes of LPT, properties under €1 million are organised into valuation bands, with an initial band of €0 to €100,000 and 18 bands from €100,001 to €1 million with a range of €50,000 in each band. The first returns were filed in late March and, in the two-month period from then until the end of May, any change in property values in the context of the value band system is extremely unlikely to cause concerns for those early filers who made an honest and reasonable assessment of their property valuation.
207. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the taxpayer of the recent sale of the Quinn Building, Johnstown, Navan, to Meath County Council. [22704/13]
View answerI have been advised by the Special Liquidators that the Quinn building was sold directly by the Quinn Group and is not pledged or held as security by IBRC. The sale of the Quinn building was therefore not a direct cost to the taxpayer.
208. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance the number of registrations for the local property tax on a local authority basis. [22712/13]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the number of registrations for the Local Property Tax on a regional or administrative area basis until Local Property Tax Returns are filed, processed and the results analysed. Property owners have until 28 May to file their returns electronically.
209. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a list of all organisations here which are granted charitable tax exemption; if he will list all such organisations which had charitable tax exemption removed in the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22716/13]
View answerIn order to qualify for a charitable tax exemption, a body or trust must be established for charitable purposes only and must apply all of its income to those purposes. Procedures are in place to firstly ensure that the exemption is only granted to bodies that meet the necessary criteria and to secondly satisfy the Revenue Commissioners of continued compliance with the terms of the exemption. A list of bodies that have a charitable tax exemption is available on the Revenue Commissioners web site www.revenue.ie at the following link:http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/publications/charities_alpha.xls.
For reasons of taxpayer confidentiality the Revenue Commissioners cannot provide a list of the individual bodies that have had an exemption removed in the past 10 years. However, the following table details the number of such bodies:
|
Year |
(YTD) 2013 |
2012 |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
|
Exemptions Withdrawn |
38 |
73 |
87 |
108 |
215 |
169 |
69 |
90 |
33 |
25 |
41 |
A charitable tax exemption can be removed for a variety of reasons such as cessation of activities, amalgamation of two charities or failure to comply with the terms of the charitable tax exemption. The high number of withdrawals in 2008, 2009 and 2010 was due to an intensive exercise carried out during those years to ensure that only those charities that were still active and required a charitable tax exemption retained that exemption.
210. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Finance if he has allocated funding from the sale of the mobile spectrum in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20196/13]
View answerThe sale of the mobile spectrum in 2012 was a welcome success, yielding the State revenues of approximately €730 million in general government terms for the year. Generally speaking all revenues of the State, including capital receipts, as well as tax revenues and non-tax revenues are paid into the Central Fund. They are not assigned to specific areas of expenditure but rather form part of the combined structure of resources which overall Exchequer expenditure is funded. This covers expenditure in many important areas, such as Social Protection, Health, and Education, as well as for the servicing of the States debt expenses.
