Written Answers Nos. 36-44
36. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether the National Asset Management Agency is fulfilling its mandate to deliver a social dividend; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8384/14]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, Section 10 of the NAMA Act statutorily obliges NAMA to obtain the best achievable return for the State from the management or its acquired loan portfolio. NAMA is obliged to carry out its functions in the context of the overriding commercial objective provided for by Section 10 of the Act and to recover the greatest amount possible for the taxpayer from the sale of loans and properties securing its loans.
Within this context, NAMA fulfils its social obligation remit by facilitating a dialogue between NAMA debtors and third parties so as to enable the latter to acquire suitable property for social, sporting and other public purposes. Importantly, the NAMA Board has committed to giving first refusal to any public authority, including Government departments, State agencies and local authorities, in respect of the purchase of property from NAMA debtors and receivers which may be suitable for their purposes. In line with this commitment, NAMA has accommodated the release of lands and property for schools, health care facilities, community and recreational amenities and other uses. Examples include the identification of over 4,400 houses and apartments for social housing and the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle to facilitate long-term leasing of these properties by approved housing bodies; the identification of more than 70 sites for new schools; and the identification of sites and buildings for primary health care centres and other step-down and community health care facilities.
In addition to NAMA's on-going engagement with public bodies in relation to specific initiatives, such as social housing, it is open to any public body to identify its interest in lands and property securing the Agency's loans.
I believe the approach determined by NAMA's Board is contributing in terms of its primary commercial objective, while at the same time contributing to the achievement of wider public policy objectives. In light of this I do not intend to intervene, through legislative amendment or otherwise, in NAMA's positive work in this area.
37. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which unregulated purchasers of mortgage loan books or other debt are subject to the criteria laid down by the Central Bank of Ireland and his Department, with particular reference to the need to ensure the original terms under which loans or mortgages were advanced, the economic circumstances in the interim are taken into account and any potential benefit to the borrower arising is provided for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8292/14]
View answerI understand that a number of entities, which are not regulated by the Central Bank and which have purchased mortgage loan books from regulated entities, are abiding, by the Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears on a voluntary basis. The regulation by the Central Bank of such purchasers is legally complex as it could affect contracts already entered into. It needs careful consideration. For that reason, my officials are currently examining the issue with their colleagues in the Central Bank and in the Attorney General's office.
39. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 87 of 10 December 2013, if he will provide a list in tabular form of all sales by the Revenue sheriff of seized equipment in each of the past 20 years including particulars of the items sold and the price obtained; if he will indicate for each such sale the legislative provisions which permitted the sale; if he will indicate whether moneys derived from the sale went into the Central Fund or elsewhere, and if so, where; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5271/14]
View answerThe Revenue Commissioners are charged with responsibility for collection and recovery of a wide range of taxes and duties. I know that Revenue has a strong focus on making sure that everyone complies with their tax and duty responsibilities by paying the right amount and on time. Revenue expects businesses to continue, notwithstanding the difficult economic circumstances in which they are now operating, to maintain a clear focus and organise their financial affairs to ensure that tax debts are paid as they fall due. I know that Revenue is conscious of the difficult economic and financial climate and how it impacts on business in being timely compliant. For example, Revenue has actively encouraged businesses experiencing particular payment difficulties to work proactively with them when such difficulties start to arise to find an agreed way through the difficulties and quickly restore voluntary timely compliance.
As I have advised the Deputy in reply to previous questions on this issue, I am informed by Revenue that Sheriffs are officers of the Court, holding office under Section 12 of the Court Officers Act, 1945. Their debt collection activities are generally covered by the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926, as amended and the execution of Revenue certificates is specifically provided for in Section 960L of the Taxes Consolidated Act 1997, as amended. Once a certificate relating to an unpaid tax debt has been issued to a Sheriff, the taxpayer becomes liable for payment of the associated Sheriff's fees and costs. The current fee structure came into effect on 1 November 2005 and is set out in the Sheriffs Fees and Expenses Order, 2005. When acting in execution of tax certificates, Sheriffs are governed by the general law, which applies to the collection of civil debts of all kinds, and not by the provisions of the Tax Acts. They are not accountable to Revenue as regards the methods and techniques of enforcement but are answerable before the courts for any breach of the civil debt collection law. Accordingly the data requested by the Deputy is not available to Revenue or to my Department. I am advised however that Revenue understands that Sheriffs only undertake seizures in a very small minority of cases and only after the defaulting taxpayer has not complied with requests for payment.
Sheriffs remit all monies, after deduction of their fees and expenses, collected from taxpayers in respect of the certificates issued to them to Revenue for appropriation against the taxpayers' accounts and transfer to the Exchequer. A table is included at Appendix 1 showing the details of the numbers, values and amounts collected in respect of certificates issued to Sheriffs in each of the last five years.
Again as I have previously informed the Deputy, I understand that the Sheriffs operate a Code of Practice, available from any Sheriff or on Revenue's website, which sets out how Sheriffs will engage with taxpayers in relation to their tax collection enforcement activities. For example, it includes commitments that when goods are seized a written inventory will be supplied to the taxpayer as soon as possible, and there is a commitment to furnish the taxpayer with an account of the proceeds of the sale of any goods seized. The Code also sets out the process whereby a taxpayer may make a complaint and how it will be handled.
Finally, I am satisfied that the Sheriff operation continues to make a very significant contribution to the overall effectiveness of Revenue's collection enforcement programmes.
Appendix 1
|
Year |
No. of Certificates Issued by Revenue to Sheriffs |
Value of Certificates(m) |
Tax / Interest Collected(m) |
|
2009 |
38,790 |
€697.4 |
€214.3 |
|
2010 |
32,964 |
€529.0 |
€173.9 |
|
2011 |
34,466 |
€474.3 |
€172.1 |
|
2012 |
31,065 |
€373.6 |
€151.3 |
|
2013 |
28,795 |
€312.0 |
€150.2 |
40. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance when the European Commission will deliver its response to the restructuring proposals for permanent tsb; the progress that has been made to date in ensuring permanent tsb plays a positive role in the Irish banking market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8380/14]
View answerA way forward for Permanent TSB was agreed with the Troika in April 2012 which envisaged it playing an important role in the future of Irish retail banking, being a more focused retail bank bringing an element of competition to the marketplace which has consolidated significantly since 2008. In this regard Permanent TSB prepared a Restructuring Plan, which the Department of Finance submitted to the European Commission ("the Commission") in June 2012.
As requested by the Commission an updated version of the plan was submitted in August 2013 which is broadly in line with the June 2012 plan. Discussions are ongoing at a technical level involving the Commission, the Department of Finance and Permanent TSB in relation to the plan. As the Deputy will be aware the timeline for approval of a Restructuring Plan (for Permanent TSB or any other entity) is a matter for the Commission and I do not intend to speculate on when that process might be concluded.
Permanent TSB has made significant progress in delivering key elements of its Restructuring Plan over the last year. Permanent TSB continues to work to enhance the value of our investments through the continued delivery of the Restructuring Plan, which will, if delivered, provide the State with more optionality regarding the future structure of Permanent TSB.
During 2013 Permanent TSB grew its presence and activity in the retail market in general and in the current account and deposit markets in particular, as well as in mortgages and term lending; and it launched several new products during the year. As the Deputy may be aware Permanent TSB is due to report its performance for 2013 in late March and while it is not appropriate to divulge details of performance in advance of that, the results, when announced, will demonstrate that Permanent TSB was a meaningful player in these segments in 2013. For example I am advised by Permanent TSB that its level of new mortgage lending more than doubled in 2013 compared to 2012.
Permanent TSB has also made progress in relation to managing its portfolio of mortgages in arrears and has created a dedicated team to deal with those customers and to roll out various solutions to them. I am advised by Permanent TSB that during 2013 it made approximately 22,000 offers of sustainable solutions to customers in arrears or having difficulty with their mortgage repayments.
41. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Finance the reason fully tax compliant and legitimate transport hauliers who do not purchase diesel using a fuel card or through bulk deliveries are unable to avail of the diesel rebate scheme; the reason the diesel receipts used by the same businesses to claim back VAT cannot be accepted by the Revenue Commissioner for purposes of the diesel rebate scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8370/14]
View answerI introduced this scheme in the Finance Act 2013 in order to provide for a repayment to qualifying road haulage and bus operators of a part of the mineral oil tax paid on their purchases of auto-diesel for use in the course of business. The scheme is intended to support the competitive position of compliant transport operators using legitimate fuel while dealing effectively with the risk of widespread abuse by fraudulent claimants.
To address these matters, provision was made for certain restrictions on the means by which the auto-diesel claimed under the scheme may be purchased. Under these provisions fuel purchased other than in bulk or through an approved fuel card is not covered by the scheme.
Purchases in bulk by the qualifying transport operator must be made from a licensed mineral oil trader, and be delivered, in a quantity exceeding 2,000 litres, to a premises or place that is under the control of that road transport operator. Purchases by means of a fuel card, approved by Revenue for that purpose, may also qualify for repayment and there is no minimum requirement on purchases made in this way. A fuel card will be approved where Revenue is satisfied that the fuel card provider will supply it electronically with information about purchases of auto-diesel by means of that card and subsequently claimed under the scheme. There are a number of fuel card providers who can supply suitable fuel cards to road transport operators and fuel retailers.
As part of the risk control measures under the scheme, claimants must register for and claim repayments electronically through Revenue's on-line system (ROS). This enables Revenue to take advantage of third party information to verify claims automatically. Bulk claims are verified against the monthly returns submitted by licensed mineral oil traders to Revenue under the supply chain controls introduced to tackle fuel laundering. This return shows information on all fuel transactions by the mineral oil trader during the month greater than 2000 litres, including such transactions with the qualifying transport operators. Claims for fuel purchased by way of a fuel card can be verified against the information supplied to Revenue by the fuel card provider. In addition to third party verification of claims, these arrangements allow Revenue to carry out extensive data analysis to identify suspicious claims and transactions, another aspect of Revenue's risk control framework.
The scheme provides for repayments of mineral oil tax under specific conditions that do not apply to the very different requirements of input credit under the VAT system. Claims made on the basis of VAT receipts would be costly to administer and would not provide sufficient assurance against the risk of fraudulent claims. In the first instance, claims would not be verifiable, automatically and in real time, against third party data from the fuel card providers and mineral oil traders. Instead, Revenue would be obliged to check such claims manually and these checks would be highly resource-intensive, necessarily limited, and cause lengthy delays in processing legitimate claims. I believe that the current arrangements find the right balance between facilitating compliant transport operators and controlling the risk of fraud.
The requirements of the scheme, including those relating to fuel purchases, were explained at length during meetings between Revenue and representative bodies of the transport operators prior to its commencement. Detailed information on the application of the scheme is published on www.revenue.ie.
42. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance in view of his comments the insurance industry must cope with flood insurance, his views on whether the industry is sufficiently prepared to cope with challenges associated with flooding and subsidence issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8382/14]
View answerThe provision of new flood cover or the renewal of existing flood cover is a commercial matter for insurance companies, which is based on a proper assessment of the risks they are accepting and the making of adequate provisioning to meet these risks. Flood cover claims are generally significant and in order to provide such cover, insurance companies would say that they have to be satisfied that the potential for such floods arising is low. It is a matter for the industry to set its premiums and make provisions at the appropriate level to ensure that it can cope with flood and subsidence issues. Furthermore, as a matter of course, insurance companies carry out reviews of the risks they are prepared to insure against and sometimes make decisions to discontinue certain types of cover which they consider high risk, such as homes in an area which is prone to subsidence.
Government policy in relation to flooding aims to address the underlying problem through appropriate remedial works where this is economically feasible. The Office of Public Works is committed to alleviating the impact of flooding through the provision of defences based on a comprehensive assessment of flood risk throughout the country and development of flood risk management plans for the areas most at risk under the National Catchment Flood Risk Assessment & Management (CFRAM) Programme.
This commitment is underpinned by a very significant capital works investment programme which will see up to €225 million being spent on flood relief measures over a five year period from 2012 to 2016. Works are completed on a prioritised basis. Once these works are completed the availability of flood insurance in affected areas would be expected to increase.
My colleague, Minister of State Hayes at the Office of Public Works has taken the lead role in discussions with the insurance industry about improving the provision of insurance cover in areas where remedial works are being carried out and OPW is near agreement on a data-sharing platform which will facilitate the transfer of detailed information on completed OPW flood relief schemes on an on-going basis. This will allow the insurance industry to take into account the flood protection measures when assessing flood risk in localities where such flood measures have been completed.
While the agreement on the memorandum of understanding with the insurance industry is to be welcomed as a first step, ultimately, it will be a matter for the insurance companies themselves to decide how they will use the information provided on completed flood defence works but they are committing to take the information into account in their assessment of risk and it is to be expected that this will facilitate the provision of flood cover in areas that are protected by completed schemes.
43. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider the State becoming the insurer of last resort for homeowners who cannot get flood insurance for their properties due to market failures; if he will consider whether such an insurance scheme could be achieved with a levy similar to the Flood Re scheme in the UK, or the scheme proposed by the National Flood Forum whereby a combination of State support and a recurring contribution from owners of uninsurable homes could form a fund to provide a capped contribution to homes that are flooded again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8246/14]
View answerThe issue of flood cover and its unavailability in some instances is one with which I am familiar. I am also very conscious of the difficulties that the absence of such cover can cause to householders and businesses. While the lack of availability of flood insurance affects a relatively small number of people, the consequences for these people are serious should their house or commercial premises be damaged by flooding. However, neither I, as Minister, nor the Central Bank, have the power to direct insurance companies to provide flood cover to specific individuals. The issue of provision of new flood cover or the renewal of existing flood cover is a commercial matter for insurance companies, which is based on a proper assessment of the risks they are accepting.
Government policy in relation to flooding aims to address the underlying problem through appropriate remedial works where this is economically feasible. The Office of Public Works is committed to alleviating the impact of flooding through the provision of defences based on a comprehensive assessment of flood risk throughout the country and development of flood risk management plans for the areas most at risk under the National Catchment Flood Risk Assessment & Management (CFRAM) Programme.
This commitment is underpinned by a very significant capital works investment programme which will see up to €225 million being spent on flood relief measures over a five year period from 2012 to 2016. Works are completed on a prioritised basis. Once these works are completed the availability of flood insurance in affected areas would be expected to increase.
The Minister for State at OPW has taken the lead role in discussions with the insurance industry about improving the provision of insurance cover in areas where remedial works are being carried out and OPW is near agreement on a data-sharing platform which will facilitate the transfer of detailed information on completed OPW flood relief schemes on an on-going basis. This will allow the insurance industry to take into account the flood protection measures when assessing flood risk in localities where such flood measures have been completed.
The Government has previously examined the introduction of a scheme of State indemnification to protect householders who cannot obtain household insurance in respect of flooding from regular insurance bodies. However, at the time this approach was not considered financially viable because it is believed that over time it would distort the market and incentivise industry to discontinue the provision of cover in medium and high risk areas, thus making the cost of such a scheme prohibitive. Furthermore, consultations with the Central Bank have led to concerns that if a levy or charge was applied to households then such a scheme would be considered a State insurance company which would raise a range of regulatory and capital issues.
The Deputy will be aware that as part of the response to the recent flooding events, the Department of Finance is currently undertaking a review of the availability of flood insurance cover. When the review is complete, I will examine it and will report to Cabinet on what measures, if any, are needed to improve the availability of flood insurance cover.
The Deputy refers to the scheme proposed by the National Flood Forum. I am aware that the Flood Forum gave a presentation to the Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on the issue of property insurance in March 2013. These proposals will be considered as part of the flooding insurance review.
The Deputy also refers to a reinsurance scheme whereby insurance companies could pool their flood insurance liabilities, similar to the temporary scheme in the UK known as Flood Re. However, the introduction of such a scheme would likely lead to a significant increase in household insurance premiums as those in low risk areas would be required to subsidise those in high risk areas. Furthermore, the Exchequer would also be required to provide financial assistance to such a scheme in circumstances where the claims were above the level of funds in the pool. I am continuing to monitor how the difficulties around the Flood Re scheme are being addressed in the UK.
In cases where individuals who are experiencing difficulty in obtaining flood insurance believe that they are being treated unfairly, they can contact Insurance Ireland which operates a free Insurance Information Service for those who have queries, complaints or difficulties in relation to insurance. Their service can be contacted at (01) 676 1914 or by email at info@insuranceireland.eu.
44. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has appointed an information officer, if this person is in charge of developing and implementing data protection in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8745/14]
View answerThere is no designated Information officer in my Department. However, all data protection matters are dealt with by a unit within Corporate Services Division.
