Written Answers Nos. 129-146
129. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the cost of legal action against his Department for the the years 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54457/13]
View answerDepending on the subject-matter, litigation is dealt with on my Department’s behalf by the Attorney General's Office, the Chief State Solicitor's Office or the State Claims Agency which engage lawyers to act for the Department where necessary, including for personal injuries claims and other matters. The costs of any external solicitors or counsel engaged for such matters are not charged to my Department's Votes. Missions abroad may have to engage local legal advisers from time to time and, in such cases, Missions are under instruction to procure such services by competitive process in accordance with Guidelines issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The total amount of settlement awards in euro, paid by my Department for 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013 are set out in the table below.
|
- |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Settlement awards |
165,751 |
103,000 |
15,607 |
131. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will raise the human rights abuses by the Latin American Solidarity Centre in the community of Pitalito, Colombia (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54481/13]
View answerAt my request, officials of the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico City, which is also accredited to Colombia, have raised with the Colombian authorities concerns regarding the community displaced from their land in Pitalito. The promotion and protection of human rights is a core principle of Ireland's foreign policy. Ireland engages on human rights issues in our contacts with the Colombian Government and civil society, including when I met with President Santos earlier this year. Ireland's concerns were also raised at the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Colombia this year. Together with our partners in the EU, Ireland will continue to monitor closely and to promote the progressive improvement of the human rights situation in Colombia.
132. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide detail in tabular form by his Department and any agency under his remit, any exemptions granted to the long-standing general principle of pay policy that the payment of additional remuneration to public servants for undertaking additional duties is not permitted; the additional remuneration involved in each case; the date of sanction for such additional remuneration; the rationale behind such sanction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55035/13]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that the staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are remunerated solely on the basis of salary policy and scales approved by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. There are no State agencies under the aegis of my Department.
133. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Finance in view of the increase in online banking and the requirement to provide proof of identity original documentation for same, if there are any plans to introduce a system of online proof of identity which would satisfy the requirements for those institutions as provided for in the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53830/13]
View answerThe customer due diligence requirements are set out in the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (as amended by the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act 2013). Section 33 of the 2010 Act requires designated persons (such as banks) to apply customer due diligence measures prior to establishing a business relationship with a customer e.g. opening a bank account. The customer due diligence measures require that the designated person must identify and verify the customer's identity on the basis of documents or information that the designated person has reasonable grounds to believe can be relied upon to confirm the identity of the customer.
The 2010 Act does not limit the range of documents or information that a designated person may have reasonable grounds to believe can be relied upon to confirm the identity of the customer. My Department has published Guidelines on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing on the application of the 2010 Act. These guidelines specify a non-exhaustive range of documentation which the bank may choose to accept for the purposes of verifying identity including in paper or electronic format. While a designated person may use online sources during the verification of identity, the requirement remains to verify the customer's identity on the basis of documents (whether or not in electronic form) or information that the designated person has reasonable grounds to believe can be relied upon to confirm the identity of the customer.
Ultimately, it is up to each bank to decide, on a risk based approach, what form of customer identification it will accept.
134. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Finance if it is possible for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo who has two properties which are liable for the local property tax, to receive two separate letters from the Revenue Commissioners in respect of each property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53668/13]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that the person the Deputy refers to in his representation is a 'multiple property' owner and is therefore obliged by law to file his Local Property Tax (LPT) Returns online. Revenue advises that it has developed a high grade IT system for LPT, which supports multiple property owners in accessing their individual property records through a single screen. The system is user friendly in terms of filing Returns, calculating liability, and selecting the most suitable payment method from the various options that are available for LPT.
The system is programmed to consolidate all properties linked to multiple owners into a single record so that individuals only receive one contact from Revenue regardless of the number of properties involved. This is the preferred option for the vast majority of liable persons.
The person in question has filed his LPT returns and paid the liabilities through the online system, is fully compliant and does not seem to have any difficulties in either using the system or accessing his records.
Given the nature of the Deputy's request, a member of the LPT team made direct contact to ascertain the nature of the problem and clarified a number of general queries on receipts and accessing records.
135. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Finance if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo may pay their liability for the 2012 household charge in instalments to the Revenue Commissioners; if he will list all options that are available to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53669/13]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that Section 156 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides that, where Household Charge for 2012 remains unpaid at 1 July 2013, the amount outstanding is increased to €200 and classified as arrears of Local Property Tax (LPT). All such arrears will be collected by Revenue in the same manner as LPT and may involve the deployment of debt collection enforcement options where necessary. In the case raised by the Deputy, the person in question can avail of a number of phased payment arrangements for arrears of Household Charge: direct debit from a bank account (current account); phased payments through approved payment service providers (An Post, Payzone or Omnivend); or deduction at source from salary, occupational pension or, certain payments from the Department of Social Protection.
136. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance the amount of excess fund tax payable in the following circumstances, public servant retiring on 1 January 2014 with €120,000 pension and €200,000 lump who dies after five years; private sector defined benefit scheme member with benefit entitlement, after commutation, of €120,000 pension and €200,000 lump sum, the pre-commutation pension was €140,000 and this person also dies after five years; private sector defined contribution scheme member with fund worth €4,984,190, based on current annuity rates, this would provide a lump sum of €200,000 and a pension of €120,000 per annum indexed, and this member also dies after five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53674/13]
View answerAt the outset, I should say that the scenarios outlined in the question, albeit that they are purely hypothetical, may be based on a misapprehension of how the Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) regime operates in practice. To try to answer the questions posed, it is necessary to make assumptions about how the individuals concerned managed, in the period prior to retirement, any possible exposure to chargeable excess tax. Given the size of the assumed benefits, it is reasonable to take the view that each individual would have sought a Personal Fund Threshold (PFT) in 2010, when the SFT was reduced from €5.4m to €2.3m. This would have allowed them to "grandfather" the pension rights they had built up at that point in time and thus protect them from chargeable excess tax on the PFT amounts.
By way of illustrating this point, take the details in the question relating to the public servant retiring on 1 January 2014 on a defined benefit (DB) pension of €120,000 and a separately accrued lump sum of €200,000 (as per the example - even though the lump sum would, in fact, be three times the pension i.e. €360,000, under normal public service pension scheme arrangements). Assuming that he or she was retiring after a full 40 year career, then that individual would have had an accrued annual pension and lump sum entitlement on 7 December 2010 (the previous opportunity for claiming a PFT) of some €111,000 and €185,000 respectively (assuming say 37 years service at that time). The capital value of those pension rights would, therefore, have been around €2.4m, and as this exceeded the then SFT of €2.3m applying from 7 December 2010, the individual would have claimed a PFT from Revenue which would have fully protected the individual from chargeable excess tax on that amount at the point of retirement. Thus, assuming the individual acted rationally and sought a PFT of €2.4m, the chargeable excess would be €200,000 and the chargeable excess tax would be €82,000.
In the same way, the private sector DB scheme member, again on the assumption that he or she was retiring after a full 40 year career, would have accrued a pre-commutation annual pension of some €129,500 at 7 December 2010, with a capital value of €2.590m at that date (i.e. €129,500 x 20) which he or she could have protected with a PFT. In this instance, on the face of it (but subject to the comments made later), the chargeable excess would be €210,000 and the chargeable excess tax would be €86,100.
It is also necessary to assume that the private sector defined contribution (DC) scheme member would have sought a PFT. For illustrative purposes, assume that this individual’s fund was built up steadily over a forty year career, meaning that on 7 December 2010, the fund was worth somewhere in the region of €4.6m. As the capital value of the fund was above the then SFT of €2.3m and did not exceed the old SFT of €5.4m, the individual could have sought a PFT for the full amount of the fund i.e. €4.6m. (In practice, of course, the value of the DC fund at that time could have been greater or lesser than this amount). On these assumptions (again subject to the comments below) the chargeable excess would be of the order of €400,000 and the chargeable excess tax would be some €164,000.
However, the scenarios illustrated in the question are unlikely to arise in practice, in the case of both the private sector DB and DC fund members, because the purpose of the SFT regime is to restrict the excessive build up of pension savings through tax relieved sources. It achieves this by imposing penal tax charges on the value of retirement benefits above set limits (i.e. the SFT or PFT) when they are drawn down, thus discouraging the building up of large pension funds in the first place. All the indications are that the pension funds of highly paid private sector individuals are being actively managed in this way, with a view to avoiding a chargeable excess and the penal tax charges that go with it. Any individual in the private sector at risk of incurring a liability to chargeable excess tax is highly likely to act rationally and stop accruing pension benefits or stop making pension contributions and negotiate alternative immediate taxable compensation with their employer instead. All of the evidence suggests that this is what has been happening and is likely to continue to happen.
The position in the public service is different. Public servants cannot avoid the penal tax charge as they have no means of ceasing to accrue benefits under their schemes in order to prevent a breach of the SFT or their PFT, if they have one.
It was for that reason that I introduced in Finance Act 2012 a more flexible reimbursement option for public servants affected by chargeable excess tax and extended it in Finance (No.2) Bill 2013. I should stress that these reimbursement options do not remove or reduce the tax liability arising on a chargeable excess but provide more flexible options for the recovery of the tax liability by the pension scheme administrator. These options involve effectively spreading the recovery of the tax, paid up front by the public service pension administrator, over a longer period. It is the case, however, that, in the event of the death of a public servant before full recovery of the tax, any outstanding amount effectively "dies" with the individual but, in such cases, of course, the Exchequer benefits by not having to pay out the member's pension in the future.
As regards private sector DB schemes, in the event that a significant chargeable excess tax bill were to arise, the scheme administrator would also have to pay the tax over to Revenue up-front. In that regard, the legislation is not prescriptive as to how recovery of chargeable excess tax so paid by a private sector pension fund administrator is to be accomplished, other than requiring the individual's rights under the pension arrangement to be reduced to fully reflect the tax so paid or for the individual to reimburse the administrator directly. If recovery from the scheme member is by way of an actuarial reduction in the pension payable to the member, then it would appear that the recovery would cease on the death of the member. While the issue of the recovery of chargeable excess tax by private sector DB pension fund administrators has never been raised as a serious issue with my Department (because chargeable excess tax should, generally, not arise in the first place), I would say that if it should transpire that the means of recovery of chargeable excess tax in private sector DB schemes emerges as a problem for members, then I will consider any practical solutions that might be suggested.
In the case of private sector DC schemes, the issue of recovery of chargeable excess tax paid by the administrator does not arise, as it would simply have been paid directly from the individual's pension fund. On that point, while the example in the Question has the private sector DC member purchasing an annuity with his or her pension fund at retirement, it is highly unlikely that this would, in fact, be the case. This is because, in contrast to individuals in DB schemes, whether private or public service, the DC individual has the option to invest his pension fund, after taking the retirement lump sum, into an Approved Retirement Fund. He or she thus benefits from being able to retain his or her remaining pension fund capital "intact" after death for the benefit of his or her spouse and children through the Approved Retirement Fund facility.
The other important point that the question illustrates is the major criticism levelled at the existing SFT regime. This is that the fixed rate conversion factor of 20:1 currently used for converting defined benefit pension rights to a capital sum equivalent is inequitable relative to defined contribution pension arrangements, given the higher market annuity rates that those with defined contribution arrangements could face if they were to purchase annuities. I have made changes in the Finance Bill by way of moving, after 1 January 2014, to higher age-related valuation factors that vary according to the individual's age at the point the benefits are drawn down. These changes will, for the future, substantially improve the equity between defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements and as between those who retire at younger ages and those who retire later in life.
137. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he intends to amend the property tax legislation to remove the obligation to pay property tax in advance of the year it is due in circumstances where the sale of a house occurs after 1 November and before 31 December that liability will no longer apply to the party who have sold the house; if he intends making other changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53683/13]
View answerIn accordance with the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended), liability for Local Property Tax (LPT) will arise where a person owns a residential property on the liability date, which was 1 May 2013 for 2013 and for subsequent years, 1 November in the preceding year. For the year 2014, the liability date is 1 November.
LPT liability crystallises on the sale of a residential property and must be paid in full either in advance of the sale or must be deducted from the proceeds of the sale. This includes any LPT that has been deferred by the liable person. Where a liable person sells their residential property between 2 November and 31 December 2013, provided that they owned the property on 1 November 2013, they will be liable to pay LPT on that property for 2014 and the tax must be paid in full at the time of the sale. This is in accordance with section 126 of the Act.
For a tax such as LPT to function properly, legislation must specify a liability date for the tax to have application for a particular year. Whatever date is prescribed, the question of liability when there is a change of ownership has to be managed, and I expect the LPT liability is likely to be factored in during negotiations between the parties on the sale price and the closing date of a particular contract. Furthermore, an individual selling a property will often be purchasing another property at around the same time. While a vendor who owns a property on 1 November 2013 is liable for the 2014 LPT on that property, if s/he does not purchase another property before 1 November 2013 s/he will not be liable for the 2014 LPT on that "replacement" property - whoever is the owner as of 1 November 2013 will be liable.
As there are a number of LPT issues to be considered when buying or selling a house, I am advised that detailed guidance on LPT issues arising in the context of the sale or transfer of a residential property was prepared by the Revenue Commissioners in consultation with the Law Society and is available since last August on the Revenue website at http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/lpt/sale-transfer-property.html and on the Law Society's website.
The liability date of 1 November in the preceding year and the obligation on the property owner on that date to pay any outstanding LPT on the sale of a property have been approved by the Oireachtas in passing the LPT legislation and I have no plans to change the law in either respect.
138. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Finance his views on the continuation of the pension levy; if he envisages the levy continuing in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53796/13]
View answerI announced in my Budget 2014 speech that the 0.6% Pension Fund Levy introduced to fund the Jobs Initiative in 2011 will be abolished from the 31st of December 2014. I will however, introduce an additional levy on pension funds at 0.15% to, among other things, continue to help fund the Jobs Initiative. The additional levy, within the existing legal framework, will apply to pension fund assets in 2014 and 2015. The impact of the Jobs Initiative can be seen by the increase in employment levels, particularly in the accommodation and food services sector. The Jobs Initiative included the reduction of VAT on tourism services to 9% from 13.5% on a temporary basis until the end of 2013. This measure has proved to be a major success, helping create over 15,000 new jobs as well as protecting existing jobs. It was due to end this year. However, it is important that we reinforce success when possible, so I have decided to continue this reduced rate. This will support the increased number of jobs already in place and accelerate the creation of new jobs.
The Deputy will be aware that I announced the reduction of the Air Travel Tax to zero with effect from 1st April 2014. The decision to remove the tax, together with the retention of the 9% VAT rate for tourism services, will help maintain the momentum created by the success of The Gathering this year. Since the Budget announcement, airlines have announced the opening up of new routes resulting in a significant increase in passenger numbers with the associated increase in tourism activity and employment.
The Jobs Initiative also included a number of current and capital expenditure measures, including a number aimed at retraining the workforce. I would ask the Deputy to note that my colleague the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton T.D., with responsibility for JobBridge, the National Internship scheme, recently announced that the number of internships, originally planned at 5,000 has now exceeded 20,000. Indecon Economic Consultants undertook an evaluation of the JobBridge scheme in 2012 (published in April 2013) and their report found that 61.4% of the JobBridge survey respondents were in employment within 5 months of finishing their internships.
Under education measures, the Springboard scheme as announced in the Jobs Initiative had initially provided for 5,900 places. During 2011 and 2012, over 10,000 people enrolled on programmes under the Springboard scheme. The scheme has been extended further with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D. announcing in June this year, another 6,000 places under the third Springboard allocation. Further rollouts of the springboard scheme will be considered in the context of the findings of an on-going evaluation.
Finally, I want to reiterate that addressing the difficulties in the labour market remains the Government's biggest challenge and, accordingly, the Government is giving its highest priority to job protection and job creation.
139. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 77 of 3 December 2013, if he will provide the names of the economists in Indecon International Economic Consultants who authored an ex ante evaluation of the Living City initiative for urban regeneration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53875/13]
View answerThe principal authors of the report were Alan W Gray – Managing Director, Indecon Economic Consultants and William H Batt – Partner, Indecon Economic Consultants. Discussions with the relevant local authorities and other Government agencies will commence shortly.
The submission to the European Commission seeking State Aid approval will be issued when Finance (No2) Bill 2013 is formally enacted.
The full text of the independent ex ante cost benefit analysis on the Living City Initiative can be found on my Department's tax policy website at the following link:
http://www.budget.gov.ie/Budgets/2014/Documents/Indecon%20Ex%20Ante%20Evaluation%20of%20Living%20City%20Initiative%20for%20Urban%20Regeneration.pdf
140. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 65 of 3 December 2013, the total number of persons employed within the registry of credit unions; if he will provide some estimate if even one member of staff employed within the registry of credit unions has ever worked for or volunteered for a credit union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53874/13]
View answerI have been informed by the Central Bank that there is currently 57.4 full time equivalent staff employed in the Registry of Credit Unions. As stated previously in response to Parliamentary Question No. 65 on 3 December 2013, the Central Bank does not store the specific details requested by the Deputy.
141. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the costs incurred by his Department, the National Treasury Management Agency and NewERA for external advice provided for the proposed Bord Gáis Energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53877/13]
View answerThe Department of Finance has not incurred costs in relation to external advice provided for the proposed sale of Bord Gáis Energy. I am informed by the New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA) that legal and financial advisers to Government on the sale of Bord Gáis Energy were engaged by NewERA after competitive tendering processes. It was announced on Thursday 12 December that a preferred bidder has been selected for the sale. This announcement noted that completion of the transaction is expected to take place in the first half of 2014. As the amount of fees payable is related to the successful completion of the transaction, full details cannot be provided until then.
142. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Finance the changes in budget 2014 in relation to capital gains tax for business people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53904/13]
View answerI announced in Budget 2014 that I would introduce a new CGT incentive to encourage entrepreneurs to invest and re-invest in assets used in new productive trading activities. The measure will apply where an individual, who has paid capital gains tax on the disposal of assets, makes investments in a new business in the period 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2018 and subsequently disposes of this investment no earlier than three years after the date of investment. The CGT payable on the disposal of this new investment will be reduced by the lower of:
(i) the CGT paid by the individual on a previous disposal of assets in the period from 1 January 2010 and
(ii) 50% of the CGT due on the disposal of the new investment. Commencement of this measure is subject to receipt of EU State Aid approval.
The CGT entrepreneurial relief is provided for in Section 45 of Finance (No 2) Bill 2013 and will apply to active entrepreneurs who invest in new businesses, engaged in relevant trading activities (as defined), carried on by them personally or through qualifying companies controlled by them in which they are full-time working directors. The relief is intended to apply to productive enterprises that will generate employment and will not therefore apply to passive investors or to investments in passive activities.
The benefit of the entrepreneur relief will arise on the ultimate disposal by qualifying entrepreneurs of the chargeable business assets in which they invest. These chargeable business assets must be held for a minimum of three years and the other applicable conditions must be satisfied to qualify for relief. Accordingly the benefit of the relief will crystallise from 2017 onwards on disposals of chargeable business assets that qualify for the relief.
I also announced in the Budget, the extension of capital gains tax farm retirement relief to farmers who:
(i) have farmed their lands for a period of not less than 10 years,
(ii) on ceasing to farm the lands, immediately let them for up to 15 years – with each such letting being for a minimum period of 5 years,
(iii) then sell the land.
The purpose of the measure is to encourage older farmers who have no children to whom to transfer their farm to lease out their farmland over the long term to younger farmers. The relief will apply in respect of disposals made on or after 1 January 2014, where the above conditions are satisfied.
For a farmer aged 55 or over but under 66 years, full capital gains tax relief will be available on any gain made in respect of disposals for a consideration of up to €750,000. For a farmer aged 66 years of over full capital gains tax relief will be available on any gain made in respect of disposals for a consideration of up to €500,000. Marginal relief will apply to disposals slightly in excess of these amounts.
I also extended the property purchase incentive relief from CGT (in respect of the first 7 years of ownership) by one year to include properties bought up to the end of 2014. Where property purchased in this period is held for seven years any gain on a subsequent disposal that accrued in that period will not attract a capital gains tax liability. Where property is held for longer than this period a proportion of any gain will be exempt.
143. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Finance the number of staff working in the banking division of his Department; their pay grades; the details of any other work they carry out for either the banking policy division, any other unit of his Department, or any other organisation which results in remuneration on top of their stated pay grade; and, in instances where there is remuneration on top of their stated pay grade, the amount of that remuneration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53922/13]
View answerIn my Department, the Banking Division* is currently staffed as follows:
|
Grade |
Number |
|
Assistant Secretary |
1 |
|
Principal |
3 |
|
Assistant Principal |
6 |
|
Administrative Officer |
2 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
4 |
|
Executive Officer |
1 |
|
Clerical Officer |
2 |
All staff are in receipt of salaries as outlined in Circular 28/2009 - Revision of pay of Civil Servants. Application of pay adjustments in accordance with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act, 2009 which is available on www.circulars.gov.ie
No staff member receives any additional remuneration on top of their stated paygrade for service to other organisations in the public sector.
*This term does not include the Shareholding Management Unit, which also advises on Policy in respect of the State's Shareholdings in domestic financial institutions
144. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form the number and total value of commercial stamp duty transactions in each year since 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53950/13]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy on the yield from Stamp Duty on non-residential property, together with the numbers of duty paid transactions, is as set out in the following table. As indicated below, a breakdown between the numbers of residential and non-residential transactions is not available for 2010 and 2011.
Non Residential Property
|
Year |
€m |
Number of Duty Paid Transactions |
|
2008 |
600 |
32,847 |
|
2009 |
179 |
21,895 |
|
2010 |
92 |
41,703* (residential and non-residential) |
|
2011 |
90 |
47,030* (residential and non-residential) |
|
2012 |
49 |
20,225** |
* The transaction figures for Duty Paid Transactions in 2010 and 2011 include both residential and non-residential property transactions because a breakdown is not available. The yield figures are for non-residential property only.
**The transaction figure for 2012 is an estimated breakdown of the number of non-residential property transactions.
145. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of persons that have availed of section 481, film tax relief, to date in 2013; the number of jobs supported by the relief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53951/13]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the relevant available information is that there were 2,538 investments in Section 481 film tax relief to date for the tax year 2013. Statistics are not available showing the actual number of persons employed in the film industry. Files maintained by the Revenue Commissioners provide data on the number of individuals that work on productions in a given year. These show that in the current year, just over 27,000 individual employments were generated on film productions supported by Section 481 relief. This includes approximately 20,000 employments as extras on these productions. Unfortunately, this data does not show whether an individual spent a full year, a week or a day working on the production of a qualifying film. Similarly, an individual may have worked on a number of productions and would be counted in respect of each production. For this reason, it is not possible to estimate the number of full time equivalent employees from the Revenue information.
As the Deputy is aware, my Department carried out a review of the film relief scheme during 2012. As a result of this review, the scheme was overhauled in Finance Act 2013 to bring it up to international standards. The main beneficiaries of the revised relief will be the film producers rather than passive investors as is the case at present. There will also be benefits for the State by way of increased revenues.
In my recent Budget statement I gave notice of my intention to bring forward the proposed start date of the new scheme from 1 January 2016 to 2015.
146. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline what offices relevant to his Department are located or have been decentralised outside of Dublin; if he will provide the total number of staff in his Department and the number of staff based outside County Dublin as of 2013; the annual cost incurred in 2012 and 2013 respectively for decentralised staff travelling to meetings in Dublin; the number of times staff travelled to individual meetings in Dublin in each of those years; the costs those staff will be reimbursed for; and if his Department has procedures or mechanisms in place such as video conferencing to reduce the cost of travelling for each unit based outside Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53994/13]
View answerIn my Department there are 323 staff, 75 of whom are assigned to the Finance Unit, Accounts, Salaries, exchequer, PMG Banking and PMG Pensions which are located at Clonminch Rd, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. Details of reimbursed travel and subsistence costs in line with approved civil service rates are set out below along with the number of necessary trips made in 2012 and 2013. My Department does have Video Conferencing facilities and these are used when appropriate
2012
|
- |
Value of Reimbursed Costs |
Number of Trips |
|
Total |
€10,669.89 |
193 |
2013
|
- |
Value of Reimbursed Costs |
Number of Trips |
|
Total |
€9,843.50 |
157 |
