Written Answers Nos. 62 to 71
62. Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on an application for a disability allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon. [26603/15]
View answerI confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance from the above named person on 15 May 2015. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim.
63. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 42 of 25 June 2015, if she will consider the completion of electronic forms on a weekly basis, setting out the days worked and the days on which a person was unemployed, for jobseekers engaged in casual or part-time employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26644/15]
View answerThe casual employment process for jobseekers involves a paper-based interaction between the customer and their employer after which my Department is provided with details of the weekly employment pattern by the customer.
The current system of recording days of unemployment, as outlined in my previous reply, is a straightforward method of obtaining the employment information and verification from the employer.
There are currently no plans in place to allow for the remote certification by electronic means of days employed or unemployed by employers.
65. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the annual saving to her Department if spending on education and training was reduced by 2.5%, 5% and 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26926/15]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is outlined in the following table.
|
Training and Development (Revised Estimate provision 2015) |
€1,275,000 |
|
Annual saving from a reduction of : |
|
|
2.5% |
€31,875 |
|
5% |
€63,750 |
|
10% |
€127,500 |
66. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the annual saving to her Department if spending on professional fees, including but not limited to legal, IT-related, accountancy and other advisory and consultancy fees, was reduced by 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26954/15]
View answerBased on the amount of fees paid by the Department of Social Protection in 2014, a saving of €1,507,044 would accrue to the Exchequer, if expenditure on professional fees was reduced by 10%. Please note that such expenditure does not include medical certification and vision testing fees carried out by health professionals, but does include legal, IT-related, accountancy, and other advisory and consultancy fees.
However, an annual saving of this amount may not be realisable due to the difficulty in projecting the annual spend. Therefore the saving may be different.
67. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the annual saving to the Exchequer if the Minister's special adviser's salary was capped at the first point of the principal officer grade, that is, €75,647; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26968/15]
View answerI have four Special Advisers. One of my Special Advisors is on secondment from the Central Bank and, in accordance with the rules governing secondment retains his terms and conditions, including salary. The annual savings to the Exchequer if the salaries of the other three special advisers were capped at the first point of the Principal Officer grade would be €71,926.
By way of clarification, there are two salary scales for Special Advisers. There is a non-personal pension contribution scale starting at €75,647 for Special Advisers who were appointed prior to 1 January 2013. There is a personal pension contribution scale in respect of Special Advisers appointed after that date, starting at €79,401. In this instance the person makes a pension contribution to the Single Public Service Pension Scheme which was established on 1 January 2013.
68. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the annual saving to her Department and the bodies under its aegis if all the fees for all State agency, non-commercial State-sponsored bodies and commercial semi-State board members were reduced by 25%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26982/15]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is outlined in the following table.
Citizens Information Board
|
Projected Board members fees 2015 |
€66,000 |
|
Annual saving from a reduction of :25% |
€16,500 |
The figure given for the projected annual fees for 2015 includes potential fees in respect of current vacancies. One of the existing board members has declined to accept fees and potential amounts are not included for this member. Information in relation to membership of the Citizens Information Board is available on the Department’s website at http://www.welfare.ie/EN/AboutUs/Pages/CIB_Members.aspx.
Pensions Ombudsman
The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman does not have a board.
69. Deputy Eamonn Maloney asked the Minister for Finance if his Department has been involved in consultations on the renewal of the agreement between the European Union and a company (details supplied) due to expire in July 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26459/15]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they have not been involved in any consultations with the company concerned concerning the possible renewal of the agreement in question. I understand that the European Commission has had exploratory talks with the company but that no decision has been made as yet on whether or not to enter into formal negotiations on a new agreement.
A determination as to whether or not to renew or extend the agreement will be made after the European Commission has reported back on its initial engagement in that regard with the company.
70. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Finance if it is intended that the effects of the emergency pension levy on private pensions (details supplied) will be reversed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26488/15]
View answer73. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Finance when the Government will honour its commitment to reduce the 0.75% pension levy, given that the original levy introduced in 2006 at 0.6% and the increase of a further 0.15% in 2014 were both intended to be temporary measures; his views on whether the introduction of the levy has resulted in a vast reduction in the number of persons taking out private pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26555/15]
View answer76. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26643/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 70, 73 and 76 together.
The original 0.6% stamp duty levy on pension fund assets ended last year. The additional levy of 0.15% which I introduced for 2014 and 2015, mainly to help continue to fund Jobs Initiative, will also end after this year. There are well-documented reasons why many individuals are not investing or not investing sufficiently in pension saving. I do not believe the pension fund levies to be a principal reason among these.
The position is that the equivalent value of all of the money raised from the stamp duty levy has been used to fund the wide range of measures introduced in the Jobs Initiative to protect existing jobs and to help create new jobs and the Initiative has been a success in this regard. The measures introduced include expenditure measures such as the JobBridge and Springboard schemes, as well as a number of tax and PRSI incentives such as the reduction in the VAT rate from 13.5% to 9% for the tourism and hospitality sectors and the halving of the lower employer PRSI rate.
The pension fund stamp duty levies are charged on the trustees of pension schemes and others (including insurance companies) who have responsibility for the management of the assets of pension schemes or plans. It is up to the trustees of pension schemes, for example, to decide whether and how the impact of the levy should be passed on and who should be impacted and to what extent. I have no detailed information on the decisions made by pension fund trustees or others in relation to the passing on of the full or a partial impact of the levy to the current, deferred or former (retired) members of pension schemes. I am aware, however, that where trustees have made the decision to pass on the impact or part of the impact of the levy to pensioners that a smaller reduction in pension payments over the lifetime of the pension may have been made in many cases in preference to a larger reduction over a shorter period.
While the pension fund levies have ceased and will be ceased as I have already outlined, I have no plans to repay the pension fund levy collected as may be implied in the questions. The value of the funds raised by way of the levy have been used to protect and create jobs and this has helped to create the improving financial and economic position of the State.
Taxpayers to whom the impact of the levy may have been passed on by the chargeable persons responsible for the payment of the levy will benefit from the changes which I began in Budget 2015 and which will continue in future Budgets to reduce the tax burden on those on low and middle incomes.
As regards serving and retired public servants, I am informed by my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that the application of the pension-related deduction (PRD) to serving public servants resulted in an average reduction of some 7% in the remuneration of public servants (from March 2009) and was followed by a further reduction of 6% from 1 January 2010 in the remuneration rates applicable to public servants. A third pay reduction applied to public servants earning in excess of €65,000 with effect from 1 July 2013 at rates ranging from 5.5% to 10%. The public service pension reduction (PSPR) imposed reductions from 1 January 2011 on public service pensions in payment in excess of €12,000 per annum using a progressively tiered set of bands and rates. The measure, as introduced, resulted in an average reduction of 4% to public service pensions with much higher reductions for those on higher pensions. Further reductions for higher public service pensions were introduced in July 2013.
While changes to the PRD and PSPR are proposed to start from next year which will result in reductions in the PRD and the PSPR, particularly affecting public servants on low and middle incomes and retired public servants in receipt of low pensions, there is no provision for the repayment of PRD or PSPR already deducted from the remuneration or pensions of the affected individuals.
71. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Finance the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo was refused a value added tax refund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26533/15]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a claim for refund of VAT was made to them by the person concerned. Approximately half of the claim was supported by the appropriate original invoices and has been refunded. The documentation to support the remainder of the claim has not been received to date. The balance of the claim will be processed by Revenue as quickly as possible once the original invoices are received.
