Written Answers Nos. 38 - 43
38. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance his views in relation to the promised changes to the statutory instruments for the pyrite exemption from the local property tax, in the context of cases (details supplied), and his proposals to resolve this clear anomaly. [41718/14]
View answerAs I previously advised the Deputy in response to Parliamentary Questions no. 14 (37016/14) and no. 31 (37015/14) on 2/10/14 officials of my Department, with officials of the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government, are examining the alternatives other than testing that may be available in order to confirm entitlement to a Local Property Tax (LPT) exemption.
While I am conscious of the anomaly to which the Deputy refers, it is important that any changes that may be made do not go beyond the objectives of providing a temporary exemption for homes with "significant pyritic damage" only. As I have advised on many occasions in the past, a liability to LPT should apply to all owners of residential property with a limited number of exemptions. Limiting the exemptions available allows the rate to be kept low for those liable persons who do not qualify for an exemption.
The Deputy may be aware that the purpose of the Building Condition Assessment (BCA) required by the Pyrite Resolution Board's Pyrite Remediation Scheme is to demonstrate damage and to inform whether sampling and testing of the sub-floor hardcore of the residential property should be undertaken in order to confirm that such damage arises from pyrite. The BCA does not involve any invasive internal or external inspections to a residential property and, on its own, cannot be used to state conclusively that reactive pyrite is present in the sub-floor hardcore of the property.
The exemption from LPT based on "significant pyritic damage" has been comprehensively dealt with in a number of Parliamentary Questions this year, including Questions no 217 on 18/2/14 (8212/14), no. 121 on 30/4/14 (19698/14) and no. 43 on 19/6/14 (26462/14).
Unless and until the LPT legislation is changed, Revenue has an obligation to act in accordance with section 10A of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) which requires that an LPT exemption can apply only where the residential property has been assessed and a certificate confirming "significant pyritic damage" has been issued. This is the only type of certificate that is relevant and a homeowner cannot claim the exemption until it has been issued.
LPT operates on a self-assessment basis and it is a matter for the property owner in the first instance, to calculate the tax due based on his or her assessment of the market value of the property. When making an assessment, issues such as the presence of pyrite would be one of the factors that a property owner could take into account in valuing their property.
39. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of mortgages here that are outside the legal protection of the code of conduct on mortgage arrears having been sold to unregulated entities. [41742/14]
View answerThe Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) is a statutory Code issued under Section 117 of the Central Bank Act 1989 and lenders are required to comply with the CCMA as a matter of law. The CCMA applies to the mortgage lending activities of all regulated entities, except credit unions, operating in the State, including:
- A financial services provider authorised, registered or licensed by the Central Bank of Ireland; and
- A financial services provider authorised, registered or licensed in another EU or EEA Member State and which has provided, or is providing, mortgage lending activities in the State.
I am aware of the concerns of some borrowers about sale of the mortgage books to funds that are not covered by the CCMA. The details of the numbers of mortgages sold are considered commercially sensitive by the financial institutions involved. However, information from company announcements in the public domain, would suggest that between 8,000 and 10,000 mortgages in total have been sold to unregulated entities in recent years.
The Deputy will be aware that the Government intends to bring forward legislation to ensure that, where a regulated financial entity sells its loan book to an unregulated entity, the protections afforded under the Central Bank codes will continue to apply. The Government has reiterated this commitment on several occasions.
In July and August of this year, my Department ran a public consultation seeking views on its proposed legislation to protect consumers whose loans are sold to unregulated entities. The Department of Finance received 19 submissions from a range of respondents from the financial services industry, consumer groups, public representatives and individuals and other stakeholders. These have been published on the Department's website at http://www.finance.gov.ie/what-we-do/banking-financial-services/consultations/responses-public-consultation-process-consumer. Officials in my Department have carefully considered the submissions and are working with the Office of the Attorney General to progress this legislation. It is anticipated that it will be published by the end of this year
The Central Bank has informed me that it has communicated to firms its preference that the outcome of any sale of mortgage books by regulated entities would ensure continuity of borrower protections under the relevant Codes and also that the purchaser would have relevant policies and procedures, systems and control checks to appropriately manage a mortgage loan book. The reality is that it is in the best interests of unregulated firms that acquire loans to have the residential mortgage books serviced in compliance with the CCMA, as following the CCMA is in the ultimate best interests of both their business and their customers.
40. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm reports that he is working with US multinationals to design the new knowledge box corporation tax scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41766/14]
View answerIn last month's Budget I announced several changes to Ireland's corporation tax regime, as part of an overall strategy to "play fair and play to win". This included a change to Ireland's rules on company tax residence which will bring our company residence rules into line with those in the rest of the OECD and an end to the so-called 'Double Irish'. This was balanced with a number of competitive enhancements which were contained in the "Road Map for Ireland's Tax Competitiveness".
This strategy was underpinned by extensive research undertaken and commissioned by my Department over the course of 2014 which has now been published.
One of the key findings of the research is that the FDI sector is very important for economic growth and employment in Ireland and that Ireland needs a competitive corporate tax offering to attract FDI. In particular, we need to ensure a competitive offering for knowledge-based investment which is related to research and development and intellectual property.
In recognition of the fact that investment and growth in OECD economies is increasingly driven by investment in intangible assets, putting in place an attractive intellectual property offering is key for Ireland's success in attracting FDI. This is why I made a clear statement of my intention to introduce a competitive income-based regime for intangible assets in Ireland which will be called a "Knowledge Development Box" or "KDB".
I view this as a positive measure for Ireland and my intention is that the Irish KDB will be among the best in class on offer internationally. In order to gather views from as broad a spectrum as possible on what this may entail, I will launch a public consultation process before the end of this year on how the Irish KDB should operate.
As is the case with all public consultations that have been undertaken by my Department on corporation tax, input has been welcomed from all sections of society. A number of parties came forward to give their views on the public consultation on the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ('BEPS') Project from earlier this year, including groups who represent multinationals who are based in Ireland, political parties, Non-Governmental Organisations and individual citizens. I expect the consultation on the KDB will be no different, and I would encourage all interested parties to input to this process.
It is intended that the design of the KDB in Ireland will be along the lines of what are commonly known as 'patent boxes' which have existed for many years in countries that compete with us for FDI. At present, the measures that are in place in our competitor jurisdictions are the subject of on-going discussions at the OECD and EU level, as regards to their compatibility with the international rules around fair tax competition. As I said in my Budget announcement, it will be necessary to ensure that the Irish KDB meets with the standards that remain to be agreed by both the OECD and the EU.
41. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite a review for back to education allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41580/14]
View answerOne of the conditions of the back to education allowance (BTEA ) scheme is that applicants must be commencing the first year of an approved full-time course. As the person has completed year one of a full time course, and applied for BTEA in year two of that course, an entitlement to BTEA does not exist. A review was completed on 3rd November 2014 and the original decision stands.
42. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when she will make the report on the review of rent supplement levels available. [42282/14]
View answerThe purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. There are approximately 73,500 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.
The Department is undertaking a review of the maximum rent limits, the details of which will be published when finalised.
I am concerned that the impact of increasing limits at a time of constrained supply will yield only a very marginal increase in available supply for rent supplement recipients, with the only certainty that raising limits will increase costs disproportionately for the Exchequer with little or no new housing available to new recipients. Raising rent limits may not be the solution to the problem as it is likely to add to further rental inflation and impact, not alone on rent supplement recipients, but also on many lower income workers and students. I plan to keep this matter under close review.
43. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a county breakdown of the number of community employment workers employed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42287/14]
View answerThe following table details the breakdown by county of Community Employment participants and Supervisors as of 3rd November 2014.
|
County |
Total |
|
Carlow |
408 |
|
Cavan |
300 |
|
Clare |
566 |
|
Cork |
2,133 |
|
Donegal |
1,186 |
|
Dublin |
6,061 |
|
Galway |
1,536 |
|
Kerry |
1,009 |
|
Kildare |
880 |
|
Kilkenny |
456 |
|
Laois |
302 |
|
Leitrim |
186 |
|
Limerick |
1,231 |
|
Longford |
328 |
|
Louth |
825 |
|
Mayo |
779 |
|
Meath |
522 |
|
Monaghan |
416 |
|
Offaly |
370 |
|
Roscommon |
334 |
|
Sligo |
443 |
|
Tipperary |
963 |
|
Waterford |
847 |
|
Westmeath |
619 |
|
Wexford |
950 |
|
Wicklow |
641 |
|
Total |
24,291 |
