Written Answers Nos. 88-96
88. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide the full Revenue Commissioners details in respect of a person (details supplied) in terms of the dates that person was employed, paid tax, the rate of tax and the employer. [10771/15]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that based on the information provided, they do not have employment details for the person in question for the years 2002 to date.
To enable Revenue to check their records for the years prior to 2002, it will be necessary for the person to provide Revenue with the names of his employers and the approximate dates of employment. The person concerned should contact Ms Jacinta Hunston, Dublin Regional Office, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2, telephone 01 8589268, who will assist him in the matter.
89. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Finance if a person (details supplied) in County Kildare is entitled to a tax refund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10872/15]
View answerI have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the person concerned was asked by them to provide her 2014 Form P60 on 6 February 2015.
When that form is received by Revenue, they will review the tax liability of the person concerned and will then be in direct contact with her in the matter.
90. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance when the mortgage arrears resolution targets for 2015 will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10879/15]
View answerThe Central Bank has informed me that as part of its supervisory interaction with the banks, it will continue to engage on the banks' strategies, management, measurement and reporting of the resolution and restructuring of commercial and mortgage non-performing loans (NPLs). The Central Bank has also advised me that, working in conjunction with the ECB (as part of the Single Supervisory Mechanism), it expects that the vast majority of distressed mortgage borrowers will be in a concluded sustainable solution by the end of 2015, that the terms of restructures are being met in line with the existing MART requirements and all institutions continue to comply with the Central Bank's statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.
91. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he will call in Allied Irish Banks to question the lack of meaningful engagement with two mortgage holders (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10917/15]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware I have no direct function in the relationship between banks and their customers. Decisions taken by the bank are a matter for the board and management of the institution. Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a shareholder in some of the institutions operating in the State, I must ensure that these banks are run on a commercial, cost effective and independent basis to ensure the value of the bank as an asset to the State.
I have also been informed that for confidentiality reasons AIB is not in a position to discuss details of individual circumstances. However the bank assures me that they always wish to engage with mortgage customers in difficulty in an effort to find a viable restructuring.
92. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the nature of the report he is expecting shortly from the special liquidator of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation; when the liquidation of the corporation will be completed; if he is expecting a surplus payment to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10936/15]
View answerThe Special Liquidators are preparing a progress update report on the liquidation of IBRC for the Minister for Finance following consultation with the Department of Finance and in response to a request for a detailed update report made under Section 17 (c) of the Ministerial Instructions issued on 7 February 2013.
Upon its release this Friday (13 March 2015), this progress update report will be sent to the Finance Committee, submitted to the Companies Registration Office, and it will also be available on the Department of Finance website.
It will be some time before the Special Liquidators will be in a position to (a) Confirm the expected timeline for the completion of the Special Liquidation; and (b) Advise on the likely dividends payable to each class of creditor.
This is as a result of: (a) The early stage in the creditor adjudication process (Irish and UK creditors have up to 31 March 2015 and US creditors have until 31 May 2015 to submit their claims); (b) The other contingent creditor claims which may crystallise from litigation; and (c) The level of future receipts from the sale of the remaining assets.
93. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 92 of 5 March 2015, if he will provide a breakdown of the €19,199,325 between tax, late payment interest charges and penalties; if he will provide a breakdown of the 128 cases concluded between total amounts due of less than €50,000, between €50,000 and €150,000, between €150,001 and €250,000, between €250,001 and €300,000 and greater than €300,000; if he will confirm the largest amount collected in a single case and break it down between tax late payment interest charges and penalties; if he will confirm the status of the remaining 203 compliance interventions; if the Revenue Commissioners examined a greater number than the total of 331 cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10937/15]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that of the almost €19.2 million in settlements to date, some €16.4 million relates to tax, €1.7 million relates to interest and €1.1 million relates to penalties.
A key focus of the Revenue enquiries in relation to the tax affairs of medical consultants is the tax issues arising from the incorporation of medical consultants' businesses and in that context Revenue have confirmed that the 128 compliance interventions concluded to date include both medical consultants and their company businesses, as appropriate 95 individual medical consultants and 33 consultants' company businesses.
The settlements can be broken down as follows:
|
No of cases |
Settlement Amount |
|
53 |
< or = €50,000 |
|
29 |
>€50,00 and < or = €150,000 |
|
22 |
>€150,000 and < or =€250,000 |
|
8 |
>€250,000 and < or =€300,000 |
|
16 |
>€300,000 |
As regards the matter of the largest settlement concluded to date, because of their confidentiality obligations under section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, the Revenue Commissioners are precluded from giving details of the settlement on grounds that such a disclosure might facilitate the identification of the person concerned at a future date.
Finally, Revenue have confirmed that the remaining 203 open cases are at various stages of consideration. Revenue's enquiries in the medical sector are ongoing, with further interventions likely to be opened in the course of 2015.
94. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation residential mortgages and, separately, buy-to-let mortgages sold to date by the special liquidator; the persons to whom they were sold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10961/15]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, for operational reasons the loan assets of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (in Special Liquidation) ( IBRC ) were divided into eight portfolios: Evergreen, Rock, Salt, Sand/Pearl, Stone, Pebble, Quartz and Amber.
The Sand portfolio originally comprised 12,702 Irish originated residential mortgages with a par value of €1.8bn, most of which had transferred from Irish Nationwide Building Society. Buy to let mortgages accounted for 17% of the original Sand portfolio sold in the Special Liquidation.
Having given due consideration to the representations made by residential mortgage holders of IBRC and professional advice received, 64% of the Sand portfolio was sold to two buyers, namely Lone Star and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P.
Subsequently, the remaining 36% of the unsold residential mortgages from Project Sand were sold as two further sales tranches, Project Pearl Tranche 1 and Project Pearl Tranche 2. The first of these tranches was sold to The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland and the second tranche was sold to Mars Capital No. 3 Limited and Mars Capital No. 4 Limited.
95. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his views that through the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2014, the new owner of the mortgage in the event of it being an unregulated entity would now have to come under the umbrella of Central Bank of Ireland regulation and the same rights and protections would, therefore, be afforded to all mortgage holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10962/15]
View answer96. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance in the event that mortgage holders whose mortgages are currently held by an unregulated entity believe that the entity is not complying with the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears and the Consumer Protection Code, the steps open to mortgage holders and the State bodies they may approach to seek to ensure the statutory protections are enforced. [10963/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 96 together.
The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2015 was published in January 2015 following a commitment by this Government to protect consumers whose loans are sold by regulated financial service providers to unregulated firms. The Bill protects borrowers by requiring the entities dealing with the borrower to be regulated. Dealing with the borrower is credit servicing and the definition of credit servicing is broad. New owners of loan books who deal directly with borrowers, that is, who are servicing their own loan books, will be regulated. Otherwise they can have the loan book serviced by a regulated credit servicing firm.
Where the purchaser of a loan book is not a regulated entity in Ireland, the purchaser may voluntarily apply the Central Bank codes when managing loan books and may have internal complaints procedures in place. In the case of homeowners whose loan is now owned by an unregulated entity, the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) may be applied in the same way that it would be by a regulated lender. The CCMA is designed to support co-operating borrowers and provides extensive protection to customers in difficulty. It specifies the concrete actions lenders must take in the fair treatment of their customers in order to deal with their mortgage arrears situation as part of a resolution (or MARP) process; it also specifies the series of steps which borrowers need to take in order to engage with their lender.
Of course, voluntary compliance is not enforceable and borrowers do not have access to the Financial Services Ombudsman or the Central Bank about complaints. This is why the Government committed in March 2014 to ensuring that the same protections are available for all consumers whose loans have been sold.
The Government's objective was broadly supported in the Dáil at second stage which was taken in the Dáil on 4 February. As I said during second stage any points raised during the course of the debate will be carefully considered. I also said at that time that, as is usual, the Government is likely to have some amendments of its own at Committee Stage. Since then, Department of Finance officials have been in contact with the Central Bank and with the Office of the Attorney General to further progress the legislation.
The date for Committee Stage has not yet been set.
