Written Answers Nos. 59-65
59. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the cost of extending the home carer's tax credit to cohabiting couples with dependent children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45549/14]
View answerSection 466A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for the Home Carer Tax Credit. The amount of the credit is €810. It is claimable by married persons or civil partners who are jointly assessed to tax and where one spouse or civil partner works at home caring for children, aged or incapacitated persons, and that spouse or civil partner's income is not in excess of €5,080. A reduced credit is provided if the income is between €5,080 and €6,700. The credit is reduced by half of the excess over €5,080.
The costs of the credit and the numbers availing of it for 2011 and 2012 are:
|
Year |
Cost €m |
Numbers |
|
2011 |
62.6 |
83,400 |
|
2012 |
63.2 |
84,400 |
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they have no data upon which to develop any estimate or costing as requested by the Deputy.
60. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the status of AIB's request to be allowed to change policy in relation to paying bonuses to staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45550/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware this Government's policy with respect to banking remuneration has been in place since mid-2011. In summary, remuneration in the banks is capped at €500,000 (excluding normal pension entitlements) and the payment of bonuses is not permitted.
I can confirm that at a meeting which took place between AIB and officials from the Department of Finance in January 2014, AIB raised the issue of new staff incentivisation measures in the context of our shared objective to return the bank to profitability and ultimately deliver a return for the taxpayer. Since this meeting there has been no further communication with the bank in relation to bonuses and this was also confirmed by the CEO at the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform recently.
No policy changes are planned in the area of banking remuneration.
61. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a list of the investments undertaken by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to date in 2014; the level of employment supported; the cash balance currently within the discretionary portfolio of the NPRF; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45551/14]
View answerIn anticipation of the establishment of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) has committed to a number of investments in Ireland including infrastructure, water, long-term financing for SMEs (both credit and equity) and venture capital. The NTMA has provided a detailed table of the NPRF commitments to Irish investments as at 30 September 2014 which is set out below:
|
NPRF and 3rd Party Irish Commitments 30/09/2014 |
NPRF Commitment Capital (€m) |
3rd Party Capital (€m) |
Total Project Size (€m) |
Multiple of NPRF Commitment |
|
SME Equity Fund - Better Capital |
50 |
50 |
100 |
2.0x |
|
SME Equity Fund - Cardinal Carlyle |
125 |
167 |
292 |
2.3x |
|
SME Credit Fund - BlueBay |
200 |
250 |
450 |
2.3x |
|
China Ireland Technology Fund (Note 1) |
72 |
36 |
72 |
1.0x |
|
Innovation Fund Ireland |
125 |
125 |
250 |
2.0x |
|
Local Venture Capital Funds |
96 |
392 |
488 |
5.1x |
|
Silicon Valley Bank (Note 1) |
36 |
72 |
72 |
2.0x |
|
Irish Water |
250 |
- |
250 |
1.0x |
|
Irish Infrastructure Fund |
250 |
66 |
316 |
1.3x |
|
Forestry |
30 |
187 |
217 |
7.2x |
|
PPP Schools Bundle 3 |
14 |
121 |
121 |
8.6x |
|
PPP N11 |
18 |
165 |
165 |
9.1x |
|
Covanta Project |
44 |
456 |
500 |
11.4x |
|
Committed to Date |
1,311 |
2,087 |
3,293 |
2.5x |
Note 1: €36m committed to each of the CITF and SVB Global funds as part of a wider third party relationship.
The following commitments amounting to €79 million were made in 2014 prior to 30 September, which are included in the table above:
- Venture Capital investments not yet announced of €20 million as part of the Innovation Fund Ireland initiative and of €15 million to an Irish venture fund.
- Covanta waste to energy project €44 million.
In addition to the table above, four additional transactions totalling €185 million have been completed to date in quarter 4 2014 - comprising an additional €50 million in respect of the Irish Water facility (bringing this facility to €300 million) and €135 million in three transactions that have not yet been announced.
The NTMA, in consultation with the Department of Finance and a number of other Government Departments and Agencies, has been developing a new Economic Impact Framework, which will be a key element of the ISIF Business Plan. The ISIF Business Plan will be approved in due course by the new NTMA Board in consultation with the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Economic Impact Framework will seek to identify target areas for investment which have higher potential economic and employment impact, and will also facilitate the identification of categories of investment that would be expected to assist and accelerate normalisation of capital markets in Ireland post the financial crisis.
Because of uncertainty regarding investment opportunities that emerge or can be developed, the nature and shape of the ISIF's ultimate investment portfolio and the quantum of co-investment that can be achieved is not clear at this stage. There will also be a time lag between the NPRF/ISIF commitment and when the economic impact takes place. Therefore it is not feasible at this stage to estimate in advance what the economic activity and employment impacts of the ISIF may be. The ISIF Business Plan and the new NTMA Board are expected to address this issue.
In the interim, the NTMA is developing its capabilities for collating and analysing data to measure and report on economic impact on an ex-post basis (i.e. after the investment has been made). This will require a completely new data set to be sought and reported on by funds and the underlying companies in which funds have invested and by companies or project sponsors in which the NPRF has invested directly. While it is standard practice that companies report financial information to their investors, the new ISIF mandate will also require metrics that can be used to help assess economic impact to be reported. The NTMA expects to be able to publish a preliminary assessment of the economic impact of the investments made to date in Ireland after the Business Plan has been approved by the new NTMA Board.
The most recently reported balance for cash and cash equivalents in the NPRF Discretionary Portfolio was €2,470 million as at 30 September 2014.
62. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if a person in mortgage arrears who has the arrears capitalised as part of an arrangement with their bank will no longer appear on the Central Bank of Ireland and his Department's statistics as being in arrears; his views that this gives a potentially misleading picture of the true nature of mortgage difficulties in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45552/14]
View answerThe Central Bank has informed me that its quarterly mortgage arrears and repossessions statistics capture figures on mortgage accounts in arrears as well as on mortgage accounts subject to restructuring arrangements agreed between the borrower and his/her mortgage provider.
The Central Bank has confirmed that in a situation where a borrower has the full arrears balance capitalised (so that the arrears balance goes to zero), then they are technically no longer in arrears and therefore the account will not appear in the arrears statistics. It will, instead, be counted under the restructured/rescheduled mortgages heading. These show all restructure arrangements, regardless of whether the account is in arrears or not.
Under the terms of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA), strict criteria are applied by lenders in considering the most appropriate restructuring arrangement(s) to address the specific circumstances of individual borrowers prior to any offer being made. The primary objective is to restructure the mortgage in such a way as to maximise the likelihood of the borrower being able to adhere to the terms of the restructuring arrangement in the medium to long term.
The Central Bank is committed to the quality criteria outlined in the ECB Public Commitment on European Statistics for all statistics published including the Residential Mortgage and Repossessions Statistics. The Mortgage Arrears return was developed following individual and collective discussions with reporting institutions, and agreement on definitions and coverage. The Central Bank undertakes extensive validation and consistency checks. While this can be kept under review, I am satisfied that the mortgage data as published is robust and of good quality.
With respect to the treatment of mortgage accounts subject to arrears capitalisation in the Mortgage Restructures data published monthly by my own Department, the same situation as for the Central Bank data applies. It should be noted, that these are voluntary and unaudited returns by the relevant MART banks, and given the short timeframe in which the lenders provide this information to my Department, and more frequent report requirements, they have not gone through the lender's quality control process for regulatory return purposes.
I believe that both the quarterly Central Bank mortgage arrears and repossession statistical release and the monthly mortgage restructures publication of my own Department show that the number of mortgage accounts in arrears continues to fall and that the number of accounts classified as restructured continues to increase on a quarterly basis. It is also noteworthy that a significant percentage (81.2% at end June 2014) of such accounts are meeting the terms of their restructuring arrangement.
Both the Central Bank and my own Department will continue to keep the situation in respect of mortgage arrears under review.
63. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will bring in an equitable valuation system for early childhood care and education services which recognise the educational nature of the service provision and the importance of providing space for children to play and learn. [45511/14]
View answer64. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will ensure that early childhood care and education services are included and named under schedule 4 of the Valuation Act as relevant property not rateable and that the rateable valuation is only based on commercial activity. [45512/14]
View answer65. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the application of local authority rates to playschool facilities; his plans to introduce a legislation change in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45533/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 63 to 65, inclusive, together.
The Valuation Act, 2001 provides that all buildings used or developed for any purpose, including constructions affixed thereto, are rateable unless expressly exempted under Schedule 4 of the Act. Such exempt buildings would principally include those used for public worship, education and health care provided on a not-for-profit basis, and charitable purposes. In general, the Act maintains the long-standing position that all commercial properties - including all private childcare facilities such as play schools, pre-schools, crèches and Montessori schools - are liable for rates.
Certain childcare and pre-school facilities can be exempt from rates under the terms of paragraph 16 of Schedule 4 of the Valuation Act, 2001, where the organisation is a charitable organisation, that uses its property exclusively for charitable purposes and otherwise than for private profit. The organisation claiming charitable status for the purpose of qualifying for exemption from rates must comply with the definition of "charitable organisation" as stated in PART 1 section 3 of the Valuation Act, 2001.
Similarly, certain pre-school facilities can be exempt from rates where the conditions detailed in paragraph 10 of Schedule 4 are met.
Inconsistency in the approach to the exemption of childcare and early education facilities from rates was raised at Committee Stage of the Valuation (Amendment)(No.2) Bill 2012 in the Seanad with Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris, who was taking the Bill through the Seanad on my behalf. He undertook to consider what could be done in this regard. As a result, I got Government approval for a Seanad Report Stage amendment to the Valuation (Amendment)(No.2) Bill, to insert into Schedule 4 of the Valuation Act 2001 an exemption from rates for the property of those that provide early childhood care and education on a not-for-profit basis. This amendment was proposed and passed at Report Stage in the Seanad on 20th November 2014. I intend that the Bill will be considered by the Dáil shortly.
