Written Answers Nos. 41-46
41. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the Canadian C130 Hercules aircraft which was present in Shannon on 6 November at gate 42 was carrying passengers or cargo. [48427/13]
View answerLandings of Canadian military aircraft at Shannon are subject to the conditions that apply to all foreign military aircraft that land in Irish airports, i.e. that the aircraft are unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives, do not engage in intelligence gathering, and that the flights in question do not form any part of military exercises or operations. I am not in a position to provide information on the passengers and cargo of individual aircraft which have landed at Shannon Airport.
42. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Finance if an assessment as part of an appeal for a primary certificate to the disabled drivers medical board of appeal can be carried out in Limerick instead of Dublin on discretionary grounds in view of the applicants age and mobility restrictions which affect them when travelling long distances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48451/13]
View answerI am advised that the Medical Board of Appeal occasionally holds clinics in locations outside Dublin, but a minimum number of participants is required to make this feasible. I would point out that the Medical Board of Appeal is independent in its functions. The individual should contact the Medical Board of Appeal directly to enquire if a hearing could be facilitated in Limerick in the near future. The Board can be contacted at Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Rochestown Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin or by phoning (01) 235 5279.
43. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Finance if it will be possible for the Government to purchase the retail element of ACC bank to help establish a strategic investment bank as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48405/13]
View answerACC’s situation must be considered against a backdrop of a comprehensive programme of bank recapitalisation and restructuring that has been underway to change the future banking landscape in Ireland. It is hard to see in any context how the purchase of a bank which has been focussed on downsizing over the past number of years would match the goals and ambition of strategic investment. As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has decided to establish the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) which will absorb the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF).
Using the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, we will maximise our resources to enhance growth in the Irish economy and improve key infrastructure to maintain Ireland's attractiveness as a place to do business and to create employment. Officials of my Department are currently preparing the necessary legislation which I anticipate will be enacted early next year. Already, in the lifetime of this Government, the NPRF has established funds that support both strategic projects and a number that support SME financing. Further assessment of the need to create a Strategic Investment Bank over and above the contribution expected from the ISIF will be informed by the requirements of the economy once the Government’s key immediate objectives for the repair of the banking system have been completed.
44. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide detail based on 2012 data of the exact number of policyholders who are now estimated to be affected as a result of his proposed amendments to section 8 of the Finance Bill on health insurance relief; if fewer than 577,000 policyholders will now be impacted by the new restrictions on health insurance tax relief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48408/13]
View answerSection 8 of the of the Finance (No. 2) Bill of 2013 provides for the Budget day announcement of the new ceilings of €1,000 per adult and €500 per child on the amount of medical insurance premiums that will qualify for tax relief. I will be bringing forward an amendment at Committee Stage to provide that where a student is being charged a full adult premium that the adult ceiling for relief will apply. This amendment was sought by the health insurance industry. In addition, the current scheme of relief requires a defined relationship between the policyholder and the individual insured in order for the tax relief to apply for premiums paid on behalf of others. I have decided to remove this requirement through a Committee Stage amendment also.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that sufficient personal details for individuals covered by health insurance policies which would enable students in full-time education to be identified are not necessary for administering the granting of tax relief at source for medical insurance premiums, and are, therefore, not required to be included in the annual returns received from health insurers. Consequently there is no basis on which an estimate of the impact of applying the adult ceiling to students who are being charged a full adult premium could be compiled. Such information could not be obtained without requiring the health insurers to provide additional personal details in their annual returns, followed by carrying out a significant development of the Revenue Commissioners’ computer systems.
Furthermore, it is not possible to anticipate the impact on claims for tax relief that might arise due to the removal of the existing defined relationship between the policyholder and the individual insured in order for the tax relief to apply. Notwithstanding the above, it is expected that the numbers affected would be reduced as a result of these Committee Stage Amendments.
45. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 164 and 165 of 5 November 2013, the total unique number of chargeable persons that have been subjected to the levy in each year 2011, 2012 and 2013; if he will provide for each of those years the total amount of assets in euro of which the levy was taxed on the chargeable persons in 2011, 2012 and 2013; if the total asset base has increased or reduced during those three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48409/13]
View answerSection 4 of the Finance (No.2) Act 2011 provided for a levy on funded pension schemes and personal pension plans. The levy is charged at a rate of 0.6% on the aggregate of the market value of assets of a pension schemes at the valuation date. In the case of all pension scheme assets held in the form of contracts of assurance and all defined contribution occupational scheme assets, the valuation date is the 30th of June each year. In the case of defined benefit occupational pension schemes and small self administered schemes, for assets of such schemes held other than by way of contracts of assurance, if it is customary to prepare accounts to an appropriate standard to a different date, the valuation date is the last day of the accounting period of the scheme ending in the preceding 12 months. The number of chargeable persons making returns for the levy in each of the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 and the chargeable amounts are as follows:
|
Year |
No. of Chargeable Persons |
Chargeable Amounts |
|
2011 |
357 |
€77.1bn |
|
2012 |
307 |
€80.5bn |
|
2013 |
306 |
€80.5bn |
The chargeable amounts are based on the amount of the levy paid.
46. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No 167 of 5 November 2013, the total number of persons employed in the pharmaceutical and chemical sector here for each year from 2008 to date in 2013; the total number of persons indirectly employed as a result of the pharmaceutical and chemical sector here for each year from 2008 to date in 2013; the total estimated contribution as a percentage of GDP and GNP for each year from 2008 to date in 2013 of the pharmaceutical and chemical sector here; the weight in output of the pharmaceutical and chemical sector here for each year from 2008 to date in 2013; the total quantity in euro of merchandise exports for each year from 2008 to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48410/13]
View answerRegarding the employment numbers, annual average employment figures in NACE codes 20 (manufacture of chemicals and chemical products) and 21 (manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations) are provided below. These data reflect Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) employment by NACE Rev. 2, two digit classification. However, I am informed by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) that caution should be taken with interpreting this disaggregated data due to their small sample size and therefore high margin of error. According to the data, the combined employment contribution of the NACE codes 20 and 21 in the second quarter of 2013 amounted to about 37,500 employees, or around 2.0 per cent of total economy-wide employment. My Department is not aware of any official data on the indirect employment resulting from the sector. CSO input-output analysis tables suggest that the multiplier effect from pharma-chem activity is low compared to other sectors. This is likely due to the high share of imports and intellectual property in pharma-chem output.
|
Average Employment (‘000s) |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 H1 |
|
NACE codes 20 and 21 |
32.6 |
31.1 |
35.0 |
33.3 |
32.9 |
37.2 |
When looking at specific sectors, the most useful way of estimating the contribution to growth is to look at the value added of that sector using the output (rather than expenditure) approach to estimating economic activity. Gross value added (GVA) is conceptually similar to GDP, but examines production on a sectoral level, rather than through final expenditure. The CSO’s National Income and Expenditure tables provide data on GVA in the pharma-chem sector (NACE codes 20 and 21) in both constant and current prices, although the data also include NACE code 19 (believed to be small relative to the other two). The table below therefore provides estimates of the GVA of NACE codes 20 and 21, their percentage of total output and their contribution to GVA growth between 2008 and 2012.
|
GVA (constant basic prices) |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
GVA – NACE codes 19, 20 and 21 (€ million) |
10,239 |
12,633 |
15,981 |
17,412 |
17,868 |
|
GVA – NACE codes 19, 20 and 21 (% of total GVA) |
7 |
9 |
11 |
12 |
12 |
|
Total GVA growth (% y-o-y) |
-0.4 |
-4.1 |
-0.9 |
2.8 |
0.6 |
|
- NACE 19, 20 and 21 contribution (percentage points) |
-0.8 |
1.7 |
2.6 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
Trade figures are reported on a monthly basis as part of the CSO’s “Goods Exports and Imports” release, and are broken down (in value terms) according to standard international trade classification (SITC) categories. Exports of the sector can be loosely classified as SITC categories 51 (organic chemicals) and 54 (medical and pharmaceutical products), and these are outlined in the table.
|
Exports (€, million) |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 (Jan-Aug) |
|
SITC category codes 51 and 54 |
34,566 |
39,852 |
43,682 |
46,362 |
44,604 |
27,128 |
It should however be noted that, due to the high import intensity of output in the pharma-chem sector, the net impact on GDP of any decline in exports is unlikely to be as large as the gross decline. Research conducted by officials from my Department (available at tinyurl.com/pharmapaper) suggests an input share of gross output of about 50 per cent in the sector. A decrease in exports in the sector is therefore likely to coincide with declining imports (on both the services side through licenses and royalties as well as raw chemical imputs), reducing the impact on net trade.
