Written Answers Nos. 46-52
46. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider amending section 97 of the Tax Consolidation Act 1997 to allow local property tax to be deductible against rental income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26364/14]
View answerThe Thornhill Group, the inter-departmental group chaired by Dr Don Thornhill established to consider the structures and modalities of a property tax, recommended that Local Property Tax (LPT) paid by the owner in respect of a rented property should be deductible for income tax or corporation tax purposes, in a similar manner to commercial rates. The group recognised the considerable pressures on the public finances and the need to bridge the gap between expenditure and revenue, and, for this reason, suggested that consideration be given to phasing in deductibility over a period of years. The group also considered that it was for Government, having regard to the prevailing budgetary situation, to decide on the time span for phasing-in deductibility and on what percentage of LPT to allow as a deduction from gross rents for tax purposes. The Government has agreed in principle to accept this recommendation but has not considered the manner or the timing in which this will happen.
47. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance to explain the procedures operated by the Irish Credit Bureau for a person to rectify errors in his or her credit rating; and if there is an online procedure for errors to be corrected. [26365/14]
View answer48. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance if a measure will be introduced whereby the Central Bank of Ireland or the Irish Credit Bureau could notify a person of a negative credit rating being put in place against him or her, particularly in cases where there may be errors in financial institutions' dealings with the person concerned and he or she is unaware that his or her credit rating has been adversely affected. [26366/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 48 together.
Neither I nor the Central Bank have any role in relation to information held by the Irish Credit Bureau. The Irish Credit Bureau is a privately run entity and is subject to the Data Protection legislation.
On the issue more generally, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner was established under the Data Protection Act 1988. The Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 updated the legislation, implementing the provisions of EU Directive 95/46. Under the Data Protection Acts, an individual can demand that any inaccurate information held should be corrected.
The Data Protection Commissioner is responsible for upholding the rights of individuals as set out in the Acts, and enforcing the obligations upon data controllers. The Commissioner is appointed by Government and is independent in the exercise of his or her functions. Individuals who feel that their rights are being infringed should bring the matter to the attention of the Data Protection Commissioner, who will investigate the matter, and take whatever steps may be necessary to resolve it.
The Deputy may wish to draw his concerns to the attention of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.
49. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will report on tests that have been carried out on the walls of a school (details supplied) in County Dublin. [26312/14]
View answerA building project to provide an extension at the school to which the Deputy refers, is currently under construction. Tests have shown that some of the blocks used in the construction of the extension are defective. The Department and its design team is currently considering proposals from the main contractor to carry out remedial works to address the defects in accordance with the terms of the Public Works Contract under which the Contractor was appointed. The school authority and its patron body, are being kept fully informed of all discussions with the contractor regarding the remedial works required.
50. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding All Hallows College; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26168/14]
View answerAll Hallows College is a private college and is not an approved institution under the Higher Education Authority (HEA). It does not receive core funding, however, my Department provides grant in lieu of tuition fee funding to the College in respect of three approved undergraduate courses. Funding of some €436,000 for the 2013/14 academic year was allocated to the College in respect of this funding.
My Department does not have a role in the placement of students in any third level institution, however, I welcome the fact that the college has stated that it intends to wind down in a phased basis in order to facilitate as much as possible the completion of students' studies.
51. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide the cost to the Exchequer each year from 2009 to 2014 of the amount paid by his Department under the terms of settlements which included confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses. [26179/14]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not available in a readily accessible format. It is currently being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
52. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Education and Skills if extra funding will be made available for a young girl (details supplied) in County Carlow who is a high priority candidate for speech and language therapy and needs a National Educational Psychological Service assessment. [26190/14]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Under this scheme schools can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly.
In common with many other psychological services and best international practice, NEPS has adopted a consultative model of service. The focus is on empowering teachers to intervene effectively with pupils whose needs range from mild to severe and transient to enduring. Psychologists use a problem solving and solution focused consultative approach to maximize positive outcomes for these pupils.
NEPS encourages schools to use a continuum based assessment and intervention process whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention for pupils with learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties. Teachers may consult their NEPS psychologist should they need to at this stage in the process. Only in the event of a failure to make reasonable progress, in spite of the school's best efforts in consultation with NEPS, will the psychologist become involved with an individual child for intensive intervention or assessment. This system allows psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and also to help many more children indirectly than could be seen individually. It also ensures that children are not referred unnecessarily for psychological intervention.
If the parents of the child, the subject of this question, have specific concerns about her educational progress I would advise, in the first instance, that they speak to the Principal of the school with a view to raising these concerns with the assigned NEPS psychologist.
