Written Answers Nos. 65-72
65. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide the precise position relating to the cessation of jobseeker's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45740/14]
View answerAn application for jobseeker’s allowance was received on 8th September 2014 and subsequently referred to a Social Welfare Inspector on 12th September 2014 who requested further information in relation to her partner's cessation of employment in France. Some documents were received and when translated were found not to be relevant.
On 22nd October 2014, the person concerned was written to again requesting the necessary documentation be submitted within seven working days. As no documentation was received the claim was subsequently closed on 13th November 2014.
66. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if and when an application for jobseeker's allowance will be reviewed in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45741/14]
View answerThe person concerned may call to the Maynooth Branch Office and request that her claim be reviewed if there has been a change in her circumstances. The person concerned also has the option of appealing the decision on her jobseeker's allowance claim to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office. It is also open to the person concerned to make an application to her local Community Welfare Service.
67. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update regarding claims unpaid arising from those insured with the now defunct company (details supplied); the persons or organisation that will pay these claims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45754/14]
View answerThe 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.
I am pleased to say that I have been informed that having considered legal advice on the operation of the legislation, the Accountant is now satisfied that it is appropriate to make applications to the High Court for approval to release monies from the ICF for compensation, prior to the completion of the liquidation of the company.
Every effort is being made to ensure that claims can be dealt with as expeditiously as possible. The Accountant of the Courts of Justice is in ongoing discussions with both the Liquidator and his legal advisors to put in place appropriate mechanisms to make the applications to the High Court in accordance with the Insurance Act 1964. I am advised that in tandem with this he is also working to acquire the necessary skilled resources to enable applications to the ICF to be processed effectively and efficiently. Due to the unprecedented nature and scale of the insolvency the Accountant is not yet in a position to provide a timetable for applications to be made to the Fund, but it is hoped that applications by the Accountant to the High Court can begin sooner rather than later.
I appreciate that the current uncertainty regarding the timing of compensation payments is causing difficulty for the former customers of the insurance company and I have asked that information on ICF procedures is made available publicly as soon as possible. The Accountant of the Courts of Justice can only deal with claims which are submitted by the Liquidator, so the advice to all claimants continues to be that they should contact the Liquidator.
68. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 1 of 5 November 2014, following the revised charging arrangement, if he will provide an update to his estimate that the deficit would increase by between €0.5 billion and €0.6 billion or 0.3 percentage points in 2015 if Irish Water fails the market corporation test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45572/14]
View answerIn formulating the most recent proposals announced in relation to the financing of Irish Water and water charges, the Government has sought to ensure that Irish Water will pass the 'Market Corporation Test'.
Irish Water will introduce water charges for domestic customers to fund expenditure on the treatment and provision of water services. The monies raised by water charges will be received by Irish Water, which is not part of general government. As such, these receipts do not count as general government revenue and accordingly will not impact on the deficit. For information, these charges will be capped at €160 for a single adult household and €260 for all other households.
In addition, the expenditure by Irish Water in 2015 would be classified as outside Government.
If the revenue and expenditure of Irish Water were classified as in general government, it is estimated that this would increase the deficit by approximately €524 million in 2015.
69. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Finance his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding VAT; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45581/14]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the EU VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC) generally provides that supplies of goods and services be chargeable to VAT at the standard rate but that lower rates are permitted in very limited circumstances. Food products can only benefit from the zero rating in accordance with Article 110 of the VAT Directive which permits the retention of the zero rate for "clearly defined social reasons" where the products were liable to VAT at the zero rate on 1 January 1991.
As set out in eBrief 70/2011, a range of food supplements and vitamins that encourage the maintenance of health, through the sustenance derived from a normal, healthy diet, benefit from the Zero rate. The key consideration is whether the food supplement is one that forms part of a person's normal diet for the purposes of sustenance as opposed to enhancing a person's diet with a view to achieving a particular aim. A food supplement taken for the purposes of muscle growth or body mass increase, or for the purposes of weight reduction or bodily sculpture, cannot benefit from the Zero rate since such products are not food. The only two "food supplements" specified in the correspondence, probiotics and glucosamine, could be a zero rated food supplement or one liable at the standard rate but there is insufficient information provided to make such a determination. I would suggest that the Deputy provide details of the "food supplements" to which he refers to the Revenue Commissioners who will advise on their correct VAT treatment as appropriate. I would also point out that food for the purposes of interpretation of the provisions of the VAT Consolidation Act 2010 has the ordinary and everyday meaning of food; alternative definitions in an unrelated EU Directive are not relevant.
70. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on the implementation of the maximum 80% LTV for mortgage loans; the measures he will implement to assist prospective home owners that are unable to save an adequate amount in view of the rise in house prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45601/14]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the Central Bank of Ireland published a public consultation paper on the 7th October 2014 regarding proposals for new macro-prudential measures for residential mortgage lending in order to enhance the resilience of the banking sector and households to housing market developments.
The consultation paper proposes a number of measures, one of which is to require lenders to restrict new mortgage lending for primary dwelling purchase above 80 per cent loan-to-value to no more than 15 per cent of the euro value of all loans entered into in a six monthly period.
The Central Bank has now invited comments on the proposals by 8th December 2014 and the Central Bank will carefully consider all the submissions it receives before finalising measures in this area.
The Deputy will be also aware that Budget 2015 contained a number of measures to support a functioning housing market, including a particular measure to support first time buyers to save towards a deposit for their first home. This provides that DIRT tax will be refunded in respect of savings up to a maximum of 20% of the purchase price and this measure will run until the end of 2017.
71. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide all occasions where he has requested a payment from the Local Government Fund under the provisions of S6 (2C) of the Local Government Act 1998 as amended, indicating the dates the request(s) were made; the amounts requested; the dates such moneys transferred; his plans to seek further funds in this manner before the end of 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45622/14]
View answerIt is important to highlight to the Deputy that the below figures do not take into consideration the significant levels of funding received by the Local Government Fund from the Exchequer on an annual basis.
Under section 6 subsection (2C) of the Local Government Act 1998 as amended by the Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Act 2012, a total of €46.5 million was transferred from the local government fund to the Exchequer during 2012. This was made up of two separate transfers. The first was for a sum €23.5 million and was received into the Exchequer on the 20th of September that year. The second transfer was for €23.0 million and was received into the Exchequer on the 13th of December 2012. These monies reflect additional revenues generated from increases to motor tax announced in Budget 2012.
|
- |
Date |
Amount |
|
- |
20/09/2012 |
23,500,000.00 |
|
- |
13/12/2012 |
23,000,000.00 |
|
2012 Total |
46,500,000.00 |
In Budget 2013, I announced motor tax measures of a further €100 million. Section 7(c) of the Motor Vehicles (Duties and Licences) Act 2013 provided for a transfer of up to €150 million from the Local Government Fund to the Exchequer. During 2013, €100 million was transferred from the Local Government Fund to the Exchequer on the 12th of December.
|
- |
12/12/2013 |
50,000,000.00 |
|
- |
12/12/2013 |
50,000,000.00 |
|
2013 Total |
100,000,000.00 |
There have been no transfers requested yet for 2014.
It is intended that €50 million (from the Motor tax measures) plus a further amount equal to the LPT receipts in 2014, will be requested from the LGF in December. Section 6 of the Local Government Act 1998, as amended by Section 79 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, provided for a transfer of up to €600 million from the Local Government Fund to the Exchequer.
72. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Finance the reason there is a delay in excess of three months in processing applications from the Central Bank of Ireland to be an insurance broker in respect of a person (details supplied). [45626/14]
View answerThe registration of insurance brokers is a matter solely for the Central Bank of Ireland under the relevant insurance intermediaries legislation and the Central Bank Acts and is not a matter in which I have a role.
I am advised by the Central Bank that it does not comment on individual applications for authorisation. I am further advised by the Central Bank as follows:
Applications for authorisation as an insurance intermediary take an average of three months to process, this timeline being dependent on the quality of information received from the applicant and the turnaround times of responses to any of its subsequent queries in respect of the application. The application process for insurance intermediaries includes a robust assessment of the applicant and any persons proposed to hold a pre-approved control function (PCF) role within the applicant firm in line with the Central Bank's fitness and probity regime. The application process is where the Central Bank exercises its statutory "gatekeeper" role and it does not authorise a firm or its PCF role holders until it is satisfied that all relevant issues raised with the applicant have been dealt with satisfactorily.
