Wednesday, 20 Nov 2013

Written Answers Nos. 1-15

Departmental Bodies Data

Questions (3)

Shane Ross

Question:

3. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Finance the number of quangos operating under the aegis of his Department; the total number of directors sitting on their boards; the aggregate fees incurred by the State in paying the remuneration of directors of these quangos; the number of quangos that have been created since the formation of the Government; the number that have been disbanded over this period; the projected cost to the taxpayer of the establishment and operation of these new quangos; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49363/13]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

In response to the Deputy’s question each Department is responsible for monitoring the bodies which come under their remit. Details in respect of bodies which come under the remit of my Department are contained in the following table:

Name of Board	No Of Board Members and Total Remuneration paid to members.	Was the body set up or abolished since march 2011	Projected cost to the taxpayer of the establishment and operation of these new bodies
National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) Advisory Committee	5 to 7 Members In 2012 a total of €135,000 was paid to board members.	Not applicable	Not applicable
State Claims Policy Committee	7 Members In 2012 a total of €42,915 was paid to board members.	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) Commission	7 Members In 2012 a total of €222,839 was paid to board members. The National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission remuneration is met from the National Pensions Reserve Fund.	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) Board	8 Members In 2012 a total of €222,839 was paid to board members.	Not applicable	Not applicable
National Asset Management Agency Board	9 Board Members In 2012 a total of €475,000 was paid to board members. The National Asset Management Agency costs, including remuneration paid to the NAMA board, are met from its operating income.	Not applicable	Not applicable
Credit Union Restructuring Board (ReBo)	13 (including Chairperson) €11,970 p.a for Chairperson  €7,695 p.a for other board members, with the exception of the Dept. Of Finance and Central Bank representatives who don’t receive a fee.	ReBo was set up on a statutory basis on 1 January 2013 in accordance with Part 3 of the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012. The establishment of ReBo was a core recommendation of the Report of the Commission on Credit Unions which was unanimously agreed by all credit union stakeholders.	The projected cost of ReBo for 2013 is €750,000, 50% of which is recoupable via a levy on the Credit Unions. The projected costs for 2014 and beyond have not yet been finalised.
Credit Union Advisory Committee	7 (1 Chairman and 6 ordinary members). Annual allowance of €3,705 for Chairman and €2,470 for ordinary member.	There is currently no Committee in place	This will depend on when a new Committee will be established. It is estimated that annual costs will be in line with previous years.
Irish Fiscal Advisory Council	5 Council Members 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 are not payable to members of the Irish public service.	Set up in July 2011	Up to a maximum ceiling of €800,000 per annum and increased annually in line with the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices.

Questions No. 4 to 9, inclusive, answered orally.

Personal Insolvency Practitioners

Questions (10)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

10. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance if the recently published guidelines for debt managers may be revised because of reported difficulties now being experienced by professionals advising clients on managing their debts in circumstances where they are not authorised by the Central Bank to act as debt management services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49229/13]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

The relevant parts of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 commenced on 1 August 2013. This legislation provides a new regulatory regime for debt management firms under the Central Bank Act 1997. A debt management firm is defined as “a person who for remuneration provides debt management services to one or more consumers, other than an excepted person”. ‘Debt management services’ are defined in the legislation as:

(a) giving advice about the discharge of debts (in whole or in part), including advice about budgeting in connection with the discharge of debts,

(b) negotiating with a person’s creditors for the discharge of the person’s debts (in whole or in part), or

(c) any similar activity associated with the discharge of debts.

There has been some media coverage relating to the application of the Central Bank debt management rules to the Personal Insolvency Practitioners (PIPs) who will deal with the debt situation of indebted borrowers under the revised personal insolvency legislation. Under this legislation, the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI), an independent statutory body, was established by my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality on 1 March, 2013. The ISI is mandated under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 to authorise personal insolvency practitioners.

The ISI and PIPs fall within the definition of ‘excepted person’ under Section 28(f) of the Central Bank Act.

Under this section PIPs are exempted from regulation as a debt management firm when carrying out activities under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012. However if the activity provided by the PIP falls within the definition of ‘debt management services’ as set out in the Central Bank Act but falls outside the activities that the PIP is authorised to provide under the Act, then the PIP will require authorisation as a debt management firm.

It is a matter for each PIP to ensure that they have the appropriate authorisations for the services that they provide. I understand that the Central Bank and the Insolvency Service of Ireland have been in contact with some PIPs to clarify the situation regarding authorisation.

The ISI began authorising PIPs only in August this year. This process will continue and it is expected that a sufficient number of Practitioners will be authorised in due course so that a country wide network is available to insolvent debtors.

Questions Nos. 11 and 12 answered orally.

VAT Rate Application

Questions (13)

Joe McHugh

Question:

13. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Finance if he will leverage the Finance Bill to ensure maximum activity in the leisure and recreational sector; if he will specifically reference the basket of services to which the lower VAT rate applies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49075/13]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

The 9% reduced VAT rate for tourism related services was introduced in July 2011 as part of the Government Jobs Initiative. The measure was designed to boost tourism and create additional jobs in that sector, which includes leisure and recreational services. As the Deputy will be aware, I announced in the recent Budget that the 9% VAT rate would be retained. The goods and services to which the 9% VAT rate applies are those, and only those, listed in paragraphs 3(1) to (3), 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13(3) of Schedule 3 of the VAT Consolidation Act 2010. Examples of such goods and services include:

- catering and restaurant supplies, that is the supply of food and drink in the course of catering, including vending machines, hot take-away food and hot drinks. However, alcohol and soft drinks sold as part of a meal apply at the 23% rate and not at a reduced rate.

- hotel lettings, including guesthouses, caravan parks, camping sites, etc.

- admissions to cinemas, theatres, certain musical performances, museums, art gallery exhibitions, and built and natural heritage

- amusement services of the kind normally supplied in fairgrounds or amusement parks

- facilities for taking part in sporting activities including green fees charged for golf and subscriptions charged by non-member-owned golf clubs

- printed matter e.g. newspapers, magazines, brochures, leaflets, programmes, maps, catalogues, printed music (excluding books)

- hairdressing services.

In addition, Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013 makes provision to extend the 9% VAT rate to the supply of greyhounds and racehorses and to the hire of horses.

Property Taxation Yield

Questions (14)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

14. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance the total revenues collected from the local property tax to date broken down by local authority area; the first expected date when sums corresponding to local property tax revenues will be transferred from the central fund to the local government fund; the reason such transfers may be postponed; if he has this year requested moneys to be transferred from the local government fund in accordance with section 7 of the Motor Vehicles (Duties and Licences) Act 2013; if so, the dates and amounts of such transfers; the specific purpose of reallocating this money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49259/13]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

Regarding the yield from the Local Property Tax (LPT), I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that preliminary yield and compliance data in relation to LPT for 2013 are compiled on the basis of the numbers of properties and are available broken down by City and County Councils nationally. The most up to date figures are published on the Revenue Commissioners website at: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/lpt/lpt-stats-11-2013.pdf and details of LPT collected for 2013 to date are provided below. I am also advised that there is an element of estimation involved in the breakdown of the amounts collected across local authorities.

The Commissioners also advise that work is ongoing to refine the LPT Register, and more detailed and up-to-date data will be published in due course. The Deputies will be aware that the Pay and File campaign for LPT 2014 in underway and this is Revenue’s current priority in relation to LPT.

I am further advised that by the end of October 2013 approximately €215m had been transferred by Revenue to the Exchequer in respect of LPT.

Section 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 Local Government Fund an amount equivalent to the Local Property Tax, including any interest paid thereon, paid into the Central Fund during that year. However, the Act does not specify when these receipts are to be paid over. A decision has yet to be made regarding how and when transfers will take place, and officials from my Department and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government will discuss this issue in the coming weeks.

Section 7(c) of the Motor Vehicles (Duties and Licences) Act 2013 allows the Minister of Finance to request a payment of up to €150 million out of the Local Government Fund. Although I have not done so to date I will be requesting €100 million from the Fund before the end of the year in order to help breach the gap between the expenditure incurred and revenue raised by the State. This amount has been factored into the Budget 2013 revenue.

It should be noted that following consideration of the options arising from a public consultation process to review the structure and rates of Motor Tax which I first announced in Budget 2012, reforms were implemented to Motor Tax in Budget 2013 to yield an additional €100 million. At the time I made it known that this additional revenue would be used for the purposes of reduction of the outstanding deficit between the receipts and expenditure of Government.

Local Authority - Amounts Collected

Preliminary Analysis based on Returns Filed to Date for 2013

Local Authority	€ Million LPT Collected
Carlow	1.7
Cavan	2.1
Clare	4.6
Cork City	5.0
Cork Co	18.3
Donegal	5.0
Dublin City	35.1
DLR	22.8
Fingal	16.1
Galway City	3.7
Galway Co	6.7
Kerry	6.6
Kildare	9.3
Kilkenny	3.4
Laois	2.2
Leitrim	1.0
Limerick City	2
Limerick Co	5.2
Longford	1.0
Louth	4.1
Mayo	4.9
Meath	7.5
Monaghan	1.8
North Tipperary	2.5
Offaly	2.2
Roscommon	1.9
Sligo	2.4
South Dublin	13.5
South Tipperary	2.9
Waterford City	1.4
Waterford Co	2.7
Westmeath	2.9
Wexford	5.4
Wicklow	7.4
Nationally	215.3

Tax Credits

Questions (15)

Michael McGrath

Question:

15. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he recognises that the removal of the one-parent tax credit will inflict significant hardship on many separated parents and jeopardise their ability to continue maintenance payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49201/13]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

As the Deputy is aware, the One-Parent Family Tax Credit is being replaced with a new Single Person Child Carer Tax Credit from 1 January 2014. The Single Person Child Carer Tax Credit will be of the same value, i.e. €1,650, as the existing credit and will also carry the same entitlement to the extended standard rate tax band of €36,800 per annum. The new credit will be targeted such that it is available only to the primary carer of the child. A maximum of one credit will be available per single carer/claimant, regardless of whether he or she cares for more than one child. This is the same condition that applies to the current credit.

Given the difficult fiscal environment it is essential to review all tax reliefs, credits and incentives in order to ensure that they are properly targeted and if necessary refocused in order that they can achieve the socio-economic objectives that are set for them. A system that allows multiple claims in respect of the same child, as can happen with the existing credit, is unsustainable.

This new policy has been agreed by Government based on a recommendation put forward by the Commission on Taxation that the credit should be retained but that it should be confined to the principal carer only. The Government is satisfied that the restructuring of the credit will achieve such an outcome.

Furthermore, in the first instance, it is the responsibility of the parents to look after a child, including financially. The allocation of childcare responsibilities is also primarily for parents to agree. However, having listened carefully to the views expressed by my colleagues and many Deputies, I will be bringing forward an amendment at Committee Stage, which will allow the credit to be used by a non-primary carer in situations, for example, where the primary carer has no tax liability.