Written Answers Nos. 228-239
228. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will put before Dáil Éireann any job description, advice, guidance given to Mr. Alan Dukes on his appointment as a public interest director in Anglo Irish Bank in December 2009. [34329/13]
View answerThe legal position is that any director appointed to the board of the covered institutions whether under the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme 2008 or otherwise is subject to the requirements of company law in relation to the discharge of their responsibilities as a company director. As such, the director is legally bound to act in what he or she believes are the interests of the separate legal entity that is the institution itself. These are the directors so-called fiduciary responsibilities. To address the scope for actual and perceived conflicts between the fiduciary duties of the directors of financial institutions under company law and the wider public interest in circumstances where those institutions have received financial support from the State, legal clarity, not just to the role of the public interest director but to that of the entire boards of those institutions, was provided under Section 48 of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010. It provides that the overriding duty of directors of the covered institutions relates to the public interest as set out in Section 4 of the CISA Act.
Section 4 of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010 states: 4. The purposes of this Act are—(a) to address the serious and continuing disruption to the economy and the financial system and the continuing serious threat to the stability of certain credit institutions in the State and the financial system generally,-(b) to implement the reorganisation of credit institutions in the State to achieve the financial stabilisation of those credit institutions and their restructuring (consistently with the state aid rules of the European Union) in the context of the National Recovery Plan 2011 - 2014 and the European Union/International Monetary Fund Programme of Financial Support for Ireland,-(c) to continue the process of reorganisation, preservation and restoration of the financial position of Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Limited begun with the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Act 2009,-(d) to continue the process of preservation and restoration of the financial position of building societies through the issue of special investment shares under section 18 (1A) of the Building Societies Act 1989,-(e) to protect the interests of depositors in credit institutions,-(f) to address the compelling need—(i) to facilitate the availability of credit in the economy of the State, (ii) to protect the State’s interest in respect of the guarantees given by the State under the Act of 2008 and to support the steps taken by the Government in that regard,(iii) to protect the interests of taxpayers,(iv) to restore confidence in the banking sector and to underpin Government support measures in relation to that sector, and (v) to align the activities of the relevant institutions and the duties and responsibilities of their officers and employees with the public interest and the other purposes of this Act,- (g) to preserve and restore the financial position of a relevant institution, and- (h) to empower the Court to impose reorganisation measures through orders made in reliance on the CIWUD Directive.
I am satisfied that with twenty years’ experience in politics, four Ministerial portfolios and three and a half years as Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Dukes had reasonable experience to assess what was in the public interest.
229. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if job descriptions were provided for public interest directors as they were appointed to the banks; if they underwent interview procedures or were appointed; the person who made the decisions about their appointments; and if they are reviewed in their roles and how frequently. [34330/13]
View answerAs I have stated many times before, the primary duty and responsibility of the public interest directors, as well as all the other directors, is to ensure that the institution on whose board they serve is run properly and appropriately. They serve on many Bank committees as well as the Boards themselves and their breath of experience brings a deeper and wider knowledge base and understanding to all the Banks which they serve. Our stated policy is to get the Banks fully functioning and run on a commercial, cost effective and independent basis to ensure their value as an asset to the State. The public interest directors have an essential role to play in assisting our aims.
Of course, the legal position is that any director appointed to the board of the covered institutions whether under the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme 2008 or otherwise is subject to the requirements of company law in relation to the discharge of their responsibilities as a company director. As such, the director is legally bound to act in what he or she believes are the interests of the separate legal entity that is the institution itself. These are the directors so called fiduciary responsibilities. To address the scope for actual and perceived conflicts between the fiduciary duties of the directors of financial institutions under company law and the wider public interest in circumstances where those institutions have received huge financial support from the State, legal clarity, not just to the role of the public interest director but to that of the entire boards of those institutions, was provided under Section 48 of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010. It provides that the overriding duty of directors of the covered institutions relates to the public interest as set out in the Act. This recognises the fundamental role that all public interest directors serve.
As the Deputy will be aware this Government has not appointed any public interest directors to the boards of the Banks since taking office. I understand that in addition to their other experiences, the public interest directors currently on the boards of the covered institutions were nominated by my predecessor on the basis of the Minister’s assessment of their civic mindedness and sense of where the public interest lies to inform their view of what was in the institution’s interest. I am advised that the Department of Finance held generic briefing sessions on the CIFS scheme in general and on the fiduciary duties of non-executive directors for individuals on the panel from which the covered institutions appointed public interest directors but that there was no job description or scope of work set out for them as this was determined under company law. In addition, for this reason public interest directors did not have a formal reporting relationship to the Minister or to the Department of Finance.
The public interest directors serve at Ministerial request and it is the prerogative of the Government to request them to step down or be replaced.
The public interest directors at Bank of Ireland do not have a specified time in office as stated in response to PQ 49476/12. The same situation applies to the public interest directors at AIB. In PTSB, there are currently no public interest directors as they stepped down at the AGM in May 2013.
230. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Finance the way in which each bank is meeting the Central Bank's targets for mortgage arrears resolution; if he will provide a breakdown of the sustainable offers made, that is, split mortgage, debt for equity, capitalised arrears and so on, per bank and overall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34337/13]
View answer259. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he has received all the information due from the banks on 30 June regarding mortgage targets; if he will set out the number of banks that met the 20% requirement for sustainable solutions for mortgage holders. [34760/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 230 and 259 together.
The Central Bank has advised me that over the coming period, the Bank will commence publication of additional statistics, designed to provide more information on the level of progress in relation to mortgage arrears resolution. One such additional measure will be the number of newly agreed loan modifications during each reference quarter. This will be captured for both temporary and permanent restructure types. A second additional measure will be the performance of restructured loans. Reporting performance against specific resolution targets, as well as the full suite of KPI’s published by the Central Bank on a quarterly basis, should provide a more complete measure of progress in addressing arrears cases.
The Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets document, published last March, sets out the specific reporting requirements by the individual institutions. Institutions are required to report their performance against public targets on a quarterly basis to the Central Bank. These returns are due to be submitted to the Central Bank not later than 22 working days after quarter end.
The first quarter in which the targets became operational was Q2, ending in June 2013. Therefore, I shortly expect to have information regarding the banks’ progress in this regard.
231. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the name, costs, date of commission, date or expected date of publication and name of the external consultant of all external reports commissioned by his Department since March 2011. [34403/13]
View answerThe following table sets out the names, costs, date of commission, date or expected date of publication and name of the external consultant of all external reports commissioned by my Department since March 2011 as requested by the Deputy:
|
Name of Consultant |
Date of Commission |
Cost |
Date or Expected date of Publication |
Name of Report |
|
Charles River Associates |
June 2011 |
€50,000 |
Summary findings published on Department of Finance website June 2011 |
Acquisition by Allied Irish Banks of EBS Building Society |
|
Mazars |
October 2011 |
€52,543.50* |
November 2011 |
SME Lending Demand Study April 2011 - September 2011 |
|
Mazars |
October 2011 |
€60,885* |
July 2012 |
SME Lending Demand Study October 2011 - March 2013 |
|
Deloitte & Touche |
November 2011 |
€ 61,553 |
May 2012 |
External Review of the Compilation of General Government Debt Statistics |
|
BDO/Amarach |
June 2012 |
€64,698 |
December 2012 |
Consultation on film relief |
|
Grant Thornton |
September 2012 |
€31,807.80 |
November 2012 |
Assessment of Credit Review Office |
|
Red C |
October 2012 |
€61,438.50* |
November 2012 |
SME Credit Demand Survey April 2012 - September 2012 |
|
Red C |
October 2012 |
€59,593.50* |
June 2013 |
SME Credit Demand Survey October 2012 - March 2013 |
|
Mercer Ireland |
October 2012 |
€146,370 |
March 2013 |
Remuneration Review of Covered Institutions |
|
Brendan Ryan BL |
December 2012 |
€900 |
Provided to the Department in January 2013 – was not published |
Narrative of Public Financial Procedures in Ireland |
|
Crowe Horwath |
May 2013 |
€36,850.80 |
To be completed by the end of August 2013, not yet determined if the full results of the report will be published |
Survey of Companies in relation to the R& D Tax Credit |
*AIB and Bank of Ireland have reimbursed or will reimburse costs to Department of Finance
232. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Finance if a review of the payments committed by households in regards to the local property tax in each local authority at the end of May has been conducted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34414/13]
View answer294. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown, by local authority, of the amount of revenue he expects to raise annually from the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35364/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 232 and 294 together.
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that in excess of 1.56 million LPT Returns were filed up to the end of June 2013 and approximately €126.5 million had been transferred by Revenue to the Exchequer.
As I previously indicated to the House in response to Parliamentary Questions, the Commissioners advised that it would not be possible to provide details of the type sought by the Deputies until work in relation to the LPT Register, which includes the processing of Local Property Tax (LPT) Returns and very large volumes of correspondence from property owners, is further advanced. This work is ongoing and is likely to continue for some time as returns and payments are still being filed each day by property owners. The number of returns filed has now reached 1.57 million.
Yesterday, 15 July, was the payment date for the first of the monthly direct debit payments and 21 July is the payment date for single debit authority (electronic cheque) payments. Any analysis carried out before these have been successfully run would be unsound.
Revenue has advised that they will make some initial data publicly available as soon as possible.
233. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners will transfer all of the local property tax income to the local government fund for 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34415/13]
View answerSection 157 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended, provides that, in each financial year commencing with 2014, the Minister shall pay from the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof into the LGF an amount equivalent to the LPT, including any interest paid thereon, paid into the Central Fund during that year. Receipts from the Local Property Tax received in 2013, which already total €126 million in the period to end-June, will remain in the Exchequer and will be used to reduce the deficit.
234. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he is supportive of retaining the 9% VAT rate for the tourism sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34430/13]
View answerAny proposal to maintain the 9% rate into 2014 will be considered in the context of Budget 2014.
235. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Finance if he will pursue with the Revenue Commissioners the requirement for a tracking mechanism for former employees who switched to being C2 operators without any intervening period of unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34492/13]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the former Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) regime, which incorporated the “C2” ceased in December 2011. However, I am assuming that they Deputy’s question relates to the risk that an employee who becomes self-employed will not register, pay appropriate taxes, etc.
The position is that the new electronic system for RCT, eRCT, which was introduced by Revenue provides a significant safeguard in such situations in relation to contractors in the construction, forestry and meat processing sectors. With the elimination of the C2 certificate, eRCT requires principal contractors to automatically deduct 20% tax on payments made to all new sub-contractors that they engage. This operates as a significant disincentive to those principals and sub-contractors who may seek to collude to manipulate what is effectively an employer/employee relationship into one of self-employment for the purposes of reducing the tax and PRSI liability of the sub-contractor and the PRSI charge for the employer.
I am also informed that Revenue’s hand in detecting possible arrangements between principal contractors and former employees is significantly strengthened under the eRCT regime by the access the Commissioners now have to quality information on contracts, the ability to monitor transactions in realtime and the facility to adjust the tax rate of a sub-contractor to 35% if required in cases of non compliance. As well as reducing the administrative burden on principal contractors, this new system has also minimised the likelihood of errors and opportunities for abuse, including employment misclassification.
Further details on the eRCT system are available on Revenue’s website at www.revenue.ie. If the Deputy has specific information about suspected abuse, he should bring the matter to the attention of the Revenue Commissioners.
236. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, a breakdown of the fees and expenses paid to each member of each State board, to include the chair and board members, and the number of members on each State board under the aegis of his Department. [34513/13]
View answer304. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Finance the annual saving to the Exchequer if all State agency board fees were reduced by 25% under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35800/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 236 and 304 together.
The details requested by the Deputy are contained in the following table:
|
Name of Board |
No Of Board Members |
Fees paid to members in 2012 |
Expenses if any paid to board members 2012 |
Estimates annual savings if 25% cut applied to fees payable to board members |
|
Irish Fiscal Advisory Council |
5 |
In the first half of 2012, an annual stipend of €5,000 (pro-rata) was payable to Members unless they were employed in the Irish public sector. With effect from 1 July 2012, the fees payable to Council Members are based on those payable to Directors of Category 2 Non-Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies, which are set from time to time by the Dept.of Public Expenditure and Reform. The relevant fees are €20,520 for the Chair and €11,970 for Members. The fees, which are being paid on a pro-rata basis in 2012, are not payable to members of the Irish public service. |
Travel and subsistence costs incurred in 2012: €25,723. |
In the event that all board members were employed outside of the Irish public service - €17,100. |
|
Financial Services Ombudsman Council |
6 |
5 members each receive €12,600 per annum and one member the chairperson receives €21,600 per annum |
€5,108 |
€21,150 |
|
National Treasury Management Agency Advisory Committee |
Up to 7 Members |
Chairperson is paid €45,000 per annum Ordinary Member are paid €22,500 per annum Secretary General of the Department of Finance receives no fee in respect of his membership. |
Total Expenses paid to board members in 2012 amounted to €32,121 Expenses relate to travel and accommodation costs incurred primarily by non–Irish based members. |
€11,250 per annum in respect of the Chairperson €5,625 per annum in respect of each ordinary member in receipt of fees |
|
State Claims Policy Committee |
7 Members |
Chairperson: €13,713 per annum Ordinary Member: €9,142 per annum 2 members (serving civil servants) received no fees in respect of their membership (one of these members replaced the other as a member during the year). 1 member waived their fee. |
Nil |
€3,428 per annum in respect of the Chairperson €2,285 per annum in respect of each ordinary member in receipt of fees |
|
National Pension Reserve Fund Commission |
7 Members |
Chairperson: €51,424 per annum Ordinary Member: €34,283 per annum The Chief Executive of the NTMA as an ex officio member receives no fee in respect of his membership. |
Nil |
€12,856 per annum in respect of the Chairperson €8,571 per annum in respect of each ordinary member in receipt of fees |
|
National Development Finance Agency Board |
8 Members |
Chairperson: The Chief Executive of the NTMA is Chairperson of the NDFA. As an ex-officio member he receives no fee in respect of his membership. Ordinary Member: €12,600 per annum The Chief Executive of the NDFA as an ex officio member receives no fees in respect of his membership. Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform receives no fee in respect of his membership. 1 member waived their fee. |
Nil |
€3,150 per annum in respect of each ordinary member in receipt of fees |
|
National Asset Management Agency Board |
9 Board Members |
Chairperson:€150,000 per annum Ordinary Member: €60,000 per annum while for one ordinary member (who is also Chairperson of the Credit Committee) receives €75,000. 3 members (the Chief Executives of the NTMA and NAMA who are ex officio members and another member of the NAMA Executive) receive no fees in respect of their membership. |
Total expenses paid to board members in 2012 amounted to €60,247 Expenses relate to travel and accommodation costs incurred primarily by non–Irish based members. |
€37,500 per annum in respect of the Chairperson €15,000 per annum in respect of each ordinary member in receipt currently in receipt of €60,000 per annum and €18,750 in respect of the ordinary member currently in receipt of €75,000 per annum |
|
ReBo (Credit Union Restructuring Board) |
13 |
€21,945.00 (September to December 2012 only) |
€11,393.01 (September to December 2012 only) |
€16,459.00 |
|
Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC) |
6 |
€16,055 was paid in total to members of the committee |
€4,516.18 |
€4,014.00 |
237. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the annual salary of all non-commercial State-sponsored bodies' chief executive officers under the aegis of his Department. [34529/13]
View answerIn response to the Deputy’s question, details in respect of salaries paid to all non-commercial State-sponsored bodies' chief executive officers under the aegis of my Department are as follows:
In 2012 the Chief Executives of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) and the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) received the salaries set out in the following table:
|
Name of Body |
Salary |
|
NTMA |
€416,500 |
|
NDFA |
€297,000 |
|
NAMA |
€365,500 |
The Chief Executives agreed to waive 15 per cent of their salary following a request by the Minister for Finance and this adjustment is reflected in the above.
The remuneration packages of each of the Chief Executives are published in the respective annual reports of each agency.
The Chief Executive of Credit Union Restructuring Board is currently on the following salary scale Year 1 €90,355, Year 2 €93,972 and Year 3 €97,607. This scale does not reflect changes that may occur with effect from 01 July 2013.
238. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, a list of all professional fees, including but not limited to legal, consultancy, IT related, advisory, advertising and accountancy; the company name and the amount invoiced between 1 June 2012 and 31 May 2013. [34545/13]
View answerI am assuming that the Deputy in her question is only referring to situations where the fees paid were subject to professional services withholding tax. Based on this assumption my Department has supplied me with the figures set out as follows for the period 1 June 2012 to 31 May 2013:
|
Consultant |
Cost - € |
Service supplied |
|
Mazars |
60,885.00 |
Small and medium sized enterprise lending demand study October 2011 to March 2012. AIB and Bank of Ireland reimbursed the costs to the Department of Finance |
|
Red C |
61,438.50 |
Small and medium sized enterprise credit demand survey April 2012-September 2012. AIB and Bank of Ireland reimbursed the costs to the Department of Finance |
|
Grant Thornton |
31,807.80 |
Assessment of Credit Review Office |
|
A&L Goodbody |
1,414.50 |
Company secretarial fees |
|
Arthur Cox |
2,579,609.55 |
Legal services |
|
Matheson |
670,790.68 |
Legal services |
|
Deloitte and Touche |
61,552.77 |
Compilation of General Government debt statistics |
|
BDO and Amarach Consulting |
64,575.00 |
Film Credit Tax Scheme |
|
Mercer |
140,000.00 |
Remuneration Review of Covered Institutions |
239. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, a breakdown of all third level courses, training programmes and courses and accompanying cost for the 2012-13 academic year 1 September 2012 to 30 June 2013 provided for employees of his Department. [34561/13]
View answerThe Department of Finance continues to invest in staff development in order to supplement the skills and qualifications of our teams through a combination of internal and external training and development initiatives. Under the revised Statement of Strategy 2011-2014, the Department aims to improve training in order to develop greater technical, management and leadership skills. Using the performance management and development system (PMDS), the Department will review our staff’s performance, and identify any skills requiring enhancement to ensure our training resources are used most effectively. The Department also undertook a comprehensive Training Needs Analysis (TNA) survey in late 2012 which has also assisted in identifying the training and development needs of staff within the Department.
The following is a list of all third level courses, training programmes and courses and accompanying cost for the 2012/2013 academic year provided for employees by the Department of Finance. Please note some of the academic courses are still ongoing and will be concluding over the coming months.
|
No: |
Course Title |
Cost - € |
|
1 |
Associate of the Irish Taxation Chartered Tax Advisor Programme |
1,748.50 |
|
2 |
Associate of the Irish Taxation Chartered Tax Advisor Programme |
1,963.50 |
|
3 |
Bachelor of Arts Degree |
2,900.00 |
|
4 |
Certificate in Safety & Health in Work |
2,295.00 |
|
5 |
Certified Project Management Diploma |
2,250.00 |
|
6 |
Change Management Certification |
2,900.00 |
|
7 |
Chartered Tax Advisor Programme - Part One |
1,248.50 |
|
8 |
Chartered Tax Advisor Programme - Part One |
1,130.50 |
|
9 |
M.Sc in Economics |
7,449.00 |
|
10 |
M.Sc in Investment, Treasury & Banking - DCU |
7,597.00 |
|
11 |
Master of Economic Science in Policy Analysis |
7,900.00 |
|
12 |
Master of Economic Science in Policy Analysis |
2,500.00 |
|
13 |
Master of Economic Science in Policy Analysis |
2,500.00 |
|
14 |
Professional Accountancy Examinations |
1,600.00 |
|
Total: |
44,382.00 |
The Department has completed 36 training programmes this year and has given training to 499 participants (please note some staff members may have participated in more than one training programme). The following training courses have been undertaken and are a mixture of internal and external training programmes:
|
No: |
Course Details |
Cost |
|
1 |
AP Leadership & Management Development Course |
€8,640.00 |
|
2 |
Microsoft Training Sessions |
€8,125.00 |
|
3 |
PMDS Information Session |
€0 |
|
4 |
FOI Training Course |
€0 |
|
5 |
Fiscal and Economics Conference, ‘Enabling a Growth Friendly Tax System’ |
* |
|
6 |
Lunch & Learn Seminars |
€0 |
|
7 |
Diploma in Tax Policy & Practice |
* |
|
8 |
Coaching SPS Programme |
* |
*Cost yet to be confirmed
In addition to the training programmes outlined above, it is envisaged that the following training courses will be held later this year:
|
Course Details |
|
Legislative Process Training in association with the AGO – discussion ongoing |
|
Public Financial Procedures Training in association with PER – discussion ongoing |
|
PMDS Performance Conversation Training |
|
Coaching Programme (proposal under development) |
|
Pilot Mentoring Programme |
|
Project Management Training Programme - Out to Tender |
|
Lunch and Learn Seminars – 7 planned |
