Written Answers Nos. 65-71
65. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Finance the measures being taken to protect former customers of a company (details supplied); his views on limiting the personal liability of such customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40553/14]
View answerI am aware of the difficulties that the liquidation of Setanta Insurance Company Limited has caused for Setanta policyholders and those claiming compensation under Setanta insurance policies. My Department and the Central Bank will in due course be reviewing the overall circumstances relating to Setanta and will report to me on what lessons can be learned and how the framework can be strengthened.
With regard to the position of Setanta claimants, you will appreciate that a liquidation of an insurance company is a legally complex and time consuming process. In general terms, under the Statute of Limitations, claimants are given two years following an accident to make an initial claim. However, it could take several years for a particular case to be finalised. Setanta is a Maltese incorporated company and, therefore, the Setanta liquidation is being carried out under Maltese law. The Setanta Liquidator is currently examining a range of factors in order to estimate the cost of claims and the extent to which claims can be met in the Setanta liquidation. The Liquidator has advised that settlements can only be paid out after all of the company's liabilities are quantified, including claims.
The Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF) provides for payments to meet the liabilities of insolvent insurers in certain cases where it is unlikely that claims can be met otherwise than from the ICF. Under the Insurance Act 1964 claims by bodies corporate or unincorporated bodies are not covered by the ICF, except where there is a liability to or by an individual. In addition, all ICF payments are subject to a limit of 65% of the amount due or €825,000, whichever is the lesser. Management and administration of the ICF is under the control of the President of the High Court acting through the Office of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice. The Accountant of the Courts of Justice is currently engaging with both the Setanta Liquidator and his legal advisors to put in place an appropriate mechanism to commence making applications to the High Court in accordance with the Insurance Act 1964. I understand that at the moment the Accountant is not in a position to put a timeline on when the first applications will be made. Procedures for processing claims and the timing of payments, including the question of advance payments from the ICF, is a matter for the President of the High Court.
In the event that the amount distributed by the Liquidator following the completion of his assessment of Setanta's liabilities, in combination with the compensation amount available from the ICF, is insufficient to pay the full value of a claim, the policyholder would be liable to pay the balance. I appreciate that the current position is causing uncertainty for the former customers of Setanta Insurance and I have asked that information on ICF procedures is made available publicly as soon as possible. While this process is still ongoing, the Setanta Liquidator has advised that policyholders and brokers should send correspondence in relation to individual claims or other claims matters as soon as is possible to Setanta Insurance Company Limited (in liquidation) at:
Deloitte & Touche,
Earlsfort Terrace,
Dublin 2.
Tel: 0818 255 255.
Email: iesetanta@deloitte.ie.
66. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Finance if the DIRT refund for first-time buyers is restricted to DIRT paid post 14 October 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40561/14]
View answerFirst time buyers will be able to apply for a refund of DIRT paid in the previous 48 months in respect of savings used to purchase a relevant property on the conveyance of that property. DIRT will be refunded in respect of savings up to a maximum of 20% of the purchase price of the property.
The scheme will apply to homes purchased by first time buyers until the end of 2017.
67. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance when the current investigation by the Revenue Commissioners into complaints made against contractors working at a publically funded community college (details supplied) construction project will be complete; if this investigation is to conclude before the project is completed; and the actions that will be taken against the contractors should the complaints by workers be upheld by the Revenue Commissioners. [40574/14]
View answer74. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update on a recent Revenue Commissioner's investigation (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40631/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 74 together.
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they are fully committed to tackling shadow economy activity and non-compliance with tax obligations in the construction sector. As part of their compliance activities, Revenue officers regularly and on an ongoing basis undertake unannounced visits to a wide range of building sites, including school construction projects. In some instances, these site visits are undertaken jointly with other State agencies, including the Department of Social Protection and NERA, the National Employment Rights Authority.
Where there is evidence of non-compliance found in the sector, the Deputies can be assured that Revenue officers take appropriate action against those found to be non-compliant. Appropriate action in this context includes ensuring that there is full compliance with the relevant payroll and business taxes, the recovery of outstanding taxes, the payment of statutory interest on unpaid taxes and, where a person is liable to a penalty, the seeking of that penalty.
The Revenue Commissioners have further informed me that section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, which was inserted by the Finance Act 2011, placed on a formal statutory basis the long-standing and accepted obligation on the Revenue Commissioners to treat all taxpayer information confidentially. Accordingly, the Deputies will appreciate that Revenue is legally precluded from disclosing if a taxpayer is or is not the subject of a compliance intervention and it may not make the outcome of any matters relating to any specific taxpayer and/or location publicly available.
68. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the total yield to the State per annum from the universal social charge; if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the categories of earners paying USC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40581/14]
View answerThe net receipts collected under the Universal Social Charge (USC) are shown in the "Receipts" section of Revenue's Statistics webpage at http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/index.html for 2011 to 2013. Receipts figures will be updated for 2014 in due course.
A detailed breakdown of the distribution of earners paying USC for the tax year 2012 is contained in the appended tables below. This information will shortly be loaded in electronic format on the Revenue Statistics webpage. The same distribution for 2011 is shown in Revenue's Statistical Report for 2012, available in the Income Distribution Statistics chapter (Table IDS19) at http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/publications/statistical/2012/income-distribution-statistics.pdf.
Distribution figures for 2013 are not yet available.
Table 1
|
Range of USC Income |
Single Males |
Single Females |
Married Couple /Civil Partners both earning |
|||||||
|
From € |
To € |
Number of cases |
Income €m |
USC €m |
Number of cases |
Income €m |
USC €m |
Number of cases |
Income €m |
USC €m |
|
10,000 |
204,807 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
192,361 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
34,529 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
|
10,000 |
12,000 |
25,065 |
275.71 |
6.00 |
26,508 |
291.54 |
6.34 |
7,253 |
79.90 |
1.74 |
|
12,000 |
15,000 |
35,197 |
474.72 |
11.92 |
36,346 |
490.27 |
12.32 |
10,415 |
140.72 |
3.54 |
|
15,000 |
17,000 |
24,077 |
385.46 |
10.74 |
24,411 |
390.87 |
10.88 |
7,190 |
115.03 |
3.19 |
|
17,000 |
20,000 |
37,114 |
686.00 |
22.42 |
37,205 |
687.06 |
22.26 |
10,605 |
195.98 |
6.27 |
|
20,000 |
25,000 |
56,212 |
1,261.89 |
49.00 |
50,178 |
1,124.82 |
43.11 |
17,935 |
404.33 |
14.55 |
|
25,000 |
27,000 |
20,214 |
525.30 |
22.54 |
18,053 |
469.31 |
19.87 |
7,558 |
196.57 |
7.48 |
|
27,000 |
30,000 |
27,656 |
787.90 |
35.61 |
25,862 |
736.59 |
32.80 |
12,166 |
347.11 |
13.51 |
|
30,000 |
35,000 |
40,309 |
1,305.78 |
62.85 |
37,506 |
1,216.33 |
57.74 |
21,732 |
706.61 |
28.57 |
|
35,000 |
40,000 |
30,801 |
1,151.23 |
58.81 |
31,294 |
1,169.37 |
59.10 |
22,886 |
857.92 |
36.24 |
|
40,000 |
50,000 |
39,130 |
1,742.38 |
94.35 |
46,555 |
2,075.22 |
112.22 |
43,843 |
1,970.79 |
87.62 |
|
50,000 |
60,000 |
24,725 |
1,352.60 |
77.38 |
28,666 |
1,564.96 |
89.53 |
42,444 |
2,333.92 |
111.01 |
|
60,000 |
75,000 |
19,058 |
1,265.29 |
75.24 |
18,735 |
1,242.26 |
73.93 |
57,353 |
3,855.85 |
195.97 |
|
75,000 |
100,000 |
11,613 |
986.70 |
60.88 |
9,925 |
838.44 |
51.75 |
62,614 |
5,396.98 |
294.84 |
|
100,000 |
150,000 |
5,217 |
618.29 |
39.38 |
3,435 |
402.92 |
25.69 |
49,232 |
5,872.33 |
344.55 |
|
150,000 |
200,000 |
1,362 |
232.74 |
14.92 |
788 |
135.03 |
8.70 |
12,696 |
2,156.13 |
132.99 |
|
200,000 |
275,000 |
706 |
163.39 |
10.42 |
477 |
110.24 |
7.05 |
5,970 |
1,376.88 |
86.31 |
|
Over |
275,000 |
983 |
854.26 |
48.92 |
417 |
237.87 |
13.82 |
6,280 |
3,545.48 |
203.45 |
|
Totals |
604,246 |
14,069.64 |
701.40 |
588,722 |
13,183.07 |
647.11 |
432,701 |
29,552.53 |
1,571.84 |
Table 2
|
Range of USC Income |
Married Couple /Civil Partners one earning |
Widowers |
Widows |
|||||||
|
From € |
To € |
Number of cases |
Income €m |
USC €m |
Number of cases |
Income €m |
USC €m |
Number of cases |
Income €m |
USC €m |
|
10,000 |
103,982 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
8,700 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
29,585 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
|
10,000 |
12,000 |
12,557 |
138.29 |
3.01 |
986 |
10.85 |
0.24 |
3,676 |
40.41 |
0.88 |
|
12,000 |
15,000 |
18,238 |
246.34 |
6.19 |
1,369 |
18.48 |
0.46 |
4,869 |
65.67 |
1.65 |
|
15,000 |
17,000 |
12,459 |
199.37 |
5.53 |
899 |
14.39 |
0.40 |
2,632 |
41.98 |
1.16 |
|
17,000 |
20,000 |
18,786 |
347.43 |
11.02 |
1,216 |
22.45 |
0.69 |
3,568 |
65.85 |
2.01 |
|
20,000 |
25,000 |
30,190 |
679.20 |
24.97 |
1,671 |
37.48 |
1.29 |
4,220 |
94.33 |
3.26 |
|
25,000 |
27,000 |
11,567 |
300.73 |
12.09 |
561 |
14.57 |
0.54 |
1,315 |
34.19 |
1.28 |
|
27,000 |
30,000 |
17,635 |
502.94 |
21.18 |
917 |
26.17 |
1.02 |
1,654 |
47.08 |
1.85 |
|
30,000 |
35,000 |
26,815 |
869.72 |
39.12 |
1,324 |
42.89 |
1.75 |
2,388 |
77.50 |
3.22 |
|
35,000 |
40,000 |
23,664 |
885.69 |
42.58 |
1,028 |
38.46 |
1.67 |
1,812 |
67.58 |
2.98 |
|
40,000 |
50,000 |
34,940 |
1,558.67 |
80.41 |
1,348 |
60.04 |
2.75 |
2,173 |
96.68 |
4.50 |
|
50,000 |
60,000 |
23,604 |
1,293.10 |
71.52 |
730 |
39.69 |
1.92 |
1,186 |
64.67 |
3.17 |
|
60,000 |
75,000 |
22,754 |
1,519.84 |
88.09 |
598 |
39.90 |
2.06 |
942 |
62.55 |
3.29 |
|
75,000 |
100,000 |
18,362 |
1,570.67 |
94.94 |
460 |
39.50 |
2.10 |
613 |
52.25 |
2.84 |
|
100,000 |
150,000 |
11,722 |
1,409.69 |
88.02 |
310 |
37.26 |
2.04 |
296 |
35.16 |
1.87 |
|
150,000 |
200,000 |
4,047 |
696.45 |
44.26 |
113 |
19.08 |
1.06 |
96 |
16.57 |
0.87 |
|
200,000 |
275,000 |
2,682 |
622.12 |
39.44 |
79 |
18.48 |
1.08 |
54 |
12.87 |
0.67 |
|
Over |
275,000 |
3,949 |
2,719.61 |
156.34 |
88 |
62.83 |
3.08 |
110 |
61.73 |
3.04 |
|
Totals |
397,953 |
15,559.88 |
828.71 |
22,397 |
542.52 |
24.15 |
61,189 |
937.07 |
38.52 |
Table 3
|
Range of USC Income |
Totals |
|||
|
From € |
To € |
Number of cases |
Income €m |
USC €m |
|
10,000 |
573,964 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
|
10,000 |
12,000 |
76,045 |
836.70 |
18.20 |
|
12,000 |
15,000 |
106,434 |
1,436.21 |
36.08 |
|
15,000 |
17,000 |
71,668 |
1,147.09 |
31.89 |
|
17,000 |
20,000 |
108,494 |
2,004.78 |
64.67 |
|
20,000 |
25,000 |
160,406 |
3,602.04 |
136.19 |
|
25,000 |
27,000 |
59,268 |
1,540.68 |
63.80 |
|
27,000 |
30,000 |
85,890 |
2,447.79 |
105.97 |
|
30,000 |
35,000 |
130,074 |
4,218.83 |
193.27 |
|
35,000 |
40,000 |
111,485 |
4,170.25 |
201.38 |
|
40,000 |
50,000 |
167,989 |
7,503.78 |
381.84 |
|
50,000 |
60,000 |
121,355 |
6,648.93 |
354.53 |
|
60,000 |
75,000 |
119,440 |
7,985.69 |
438.57 |
|
75,000 |
100,000 |
103,587 |
8,884.54 |
507.34 |
|
100,000 |
150,000 |
70,212 |
8,375.64 |
501.55 |
|
150,000 |
200,000 |
19,102 |
3,256.00 |
202.80 |
|
200,000 |
275,000 |
9,968 |
2,303.99 |
144.97 |
|
Over |
275,000 |
11,827 |
7,481.78 |
428.65 |
|
Totals |
2,107,208 |
73,844.72 |
3,811.71 |
69. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the increase in VRT and VAT on new car sales to date in 2014 compared to 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40585/14]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the increase in VRT on new car registrations from January to September 2014 compared to the same period in 2013 is €87 million (+30%). The corresponding increase in VAT is €84 million (+32%). It should be noted that the VAT figure is partially estimated.
70. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance his plans for the remainder of the thirty-first Dáil to receive a deal on Ireland's retrospective banking debt; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40613/14]
View answerThe Euro-area Heads of State or Government (HoSG) agreed in June 2012 that "it is imperative to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns." and that when a Single Supervisory Mechanism, involving the ECB, is in place and operational, the European Stability Mechanism, the ESM, could recapitalize banks directly.
On 10 June 2014 the euro area Member States reached a preliminary agreement on the operational framework for the ESM's Direct Recapitalisation Instrument (DRI). This includes a specific provision in relation to the retroactive application of the instrument. Therefore, the agreement, that we were active in negotiating, keeps open the possibility to apply to the European Stability Mechanism for a retrospective direct recapitalisation of the Irish banks, should we wish to avail of it.
What is now required is a decision by mutual agreement of the ESM Board of Governors to create a new ESM instrument in accordance with Article 19 of the ESM treaty. The aim is to have this process completed by early November this year, subject to completion of national approval procedures. For Ireland the European Stability Mechanism (Amendment) Bill 2014, which is currently passing through the Houses and is expected to be enacted by the end of this month, will fulfil this purpose. Once the Single Supervisory Mechanism is in place and operational, on 4 November this year, it is expected that the ESM Board of Governors will then take a decision to include the DRI among the list of ESM instruments.
In relation to retrospective recapitalisation, the draft guideline states that the potential application of the instrument for this purpose should be decided on a case-by-case basis and by mutual agreement. As I have stated previously, it will not be possible to make a formal application to the ESM for retrospective recapitalisation before the Instrument is in place as expected in November.
However I would remind the Deputy that unlike back in 2012, the ESM is no longer the only option open to us to recover the money provided to recapitalise our banks. Investors are now willing to invest in Irish banks again and the market value of our investments has improved accordingly.
The decision on any application once the instrument is in place is a matter of timing. I believe that in Europe a strategic approach tends to deliver and I therefore intend to keep the option of a retroactive recapitalisation on the table with the timing of any application to be decided in due course.
71. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance Ireland’s debt position in 2015; the amount of this that may be attributed to legacy banking debt; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40614/14]
View answerThe recent Budget 2015 publication projected a general government debt figure of €209.9 billion or 108.5% of GDP at end 2015.
As per my recent response to Parliamentary Question No. 166 on 27 May 2014 (PQ 23246/14), I outlined that no specific tranches of borrowing were undertaken solely for the purpose of recapitalising the banking sector. Therefore, the debt component relating to the recapitalisation of the banks can only be estimated.
The previous parliamentary question provided in detail the type and level of capital injections injected into Irish banks since the start of 2009 and indicated that they can be separated into three categories.
(1) Capital injections that were made under Ministerial direction by the NPRF Commission amount to €18.8 billion (net of the sale of Bank of Ireland preference shares in 2013). There is no debt effect associated with these payments as they did not require borrowing.
(2) The promissory notes to IBRC and EBS added €30.85 billion to the general government debt, but not the national debt, in 2010. The IBRC promissory notes were cancelled and replaced with a portfolio of eight floating rate Government bonds for a total amount of €25 billion which will lead to a reduction in general government debt over time.
(3) By the end of 2013, €10 billion (net of the sale of Bank of Ireland equity in 2011, the sale of Irish Life and the sale of contingent capital notes in 2013) is estimated to have been paid through direct payments from the Exchequer account to the banking sector. Although no specific borrowing was made in the cases of interventions paid through the Exchequer they would have impacted on the cash reserves held by government.
In addition to the recapitalisation payments made to these institutions there have been some developments which have offset these measures. These include the aforementioned sale of Irish Life and the BOI contingent capital notes.
There have also been fees paid to the Minister under the Credit Institutions Financial Support and Eligible Liabilities Guarantee schemes amounting to €4.4 billion from 2008 to 2014.
On the basis of the continued progress in relation to the liquidation of IBRC the overall debt figure has continued to reduce.
