Written Answers Nos. 171-186
171. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance when a new chief executive of Allied Irish Banks will be appointed; the steps that have been taken in this process, in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29793/15]
View answerAIB announced on 29th May 2015 that Mr. Bernard Byrne would take up the post of Chief Executive Officer of the bank effective from that date. This appointment followed a search and selection process undertaken by the board of the bank following the resignation of the previous CEO on 19th January 2015. The full text of the bank's announcement is available on its website and can be accessed via the following link: http://investorrelations.aib.ie/content/dam/aib/investorrelations/docs/se-announcements/2015/aib-announces-ceo-appointment-29-May-2015.pdf.
172. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the estimated funds covered by the eligible liabilities guarantee; the rate at which this will decline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29796/15]
View answerOn the 26th February 2013, following a decision by the Cabinet, it was announced that the ELG Scheme would end for new liabilities at midnight on 28th March 2013. Liabilities incurred after January 2010 and before midnight on 28th March 2013 remain covered until their next maturity subject to a maximum term of 5 years (28th March 2018).
At the date of ending the Scheme for new liabilities, coverage of the ELG stood at c. €74.6 billion. Since the ending of the scheme the covered liabilities have begun to mature from that date. By end-April 2015, ELG exposure has fallen, following the run-off of maturing deposits and bonds, to c. €4.1 billion. It is expected that the covered liabilities will reduced be significantly by 2018. It is intended that a reforecast exercise in respect of the remaining covered liabilities will be carried out with the relevant financial institutions.
175. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of refunds that have been completed for second-hand home buyers who were incorrectly charged the local property tax in 2013; when the process will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29801/15]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that the refunds to which the Deputy refers arose from the initial interpretation of Section 8 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended).
The Section was originally interpreted as benefiting first-time buyers of second hand houses but was subsequently deemed to benefit any person who purchased a second hand house in 2013 as a sole or main residence. The exemption did not extend to individuals who purchased second hand properties in 2013 for purposes other than as a sole or main residence.
As a consequence of the initial interpretation some home owners were charged and paid LPT where they were entitled to benefit from the exemption. Once the revised interpretation was confirmed Revenue carried out a review of properties purchased during 2013 to ascertain entitlement to the exemption.
The review identified in excess of 12,000 properties with possible entitlement to the relief, each of which was individually examined. The relief was granted in over 4,000 cases and payments were refunded to almost 1,100 of those property owners. The balance of the eligible cases had not paid the LPT so no refunds were due. In excess of 7,000 cases were found to be ineligible for various reasons, for example rental properties.
Revenue has confirmed that the process has been largely completed at this point with the exception of less than 600 cases who have not yet responded to correspondence issued by Revenue.
176. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if the additional 3% universal social charge paid by self-employed persons earning over €100,000 expires at the end of 2015; if the budgetary projection for 2016, published in the stability programme update, takes account of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29806/15]
View answerThe additional 3% Universal Social Charge paid by self-employed persons earning over €100,000 is provided for in subsection 2 of section 531AN, of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. This legislation was introduced in Finance Act 2011, and at that time included a provision that the measure would cease to have effect for the tax year 2015 and subsequent years. The USC provisions in Section 531AN have been amended in subsequent Finance Acts.
The additional 3% USC charge on relevant income in excess of €100,000 was extended in Finance Act 2014 as part of the overall tax package and no expiry date was included in those provisions. As the Deputy is aware, all income tax and USC elements of the income tax system are considered as part of the annual Budget and Finance Bill process.
The budgetary projection for 2016 published in the Stability Programme Update takes account of all previous budgetary decisions, and therefore includes the additional 3% Universal Social Charge payable by self-employed persons.
177. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the current balance in the Insurance Compensation Fund, his views that it is adequate to meet all possible claims on it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29807/15]
View answerThe Insurance Compensation Fund was established by the Insurance Act 1964. Its purpose is to protect policy holders in the event of their insurer becoming insolvent. The management and administration of the Insurance Compensation Fund is under the control of the President of the High Court acting through the Office of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice.
The Central Bank of Ireland has responsibility under Section 6 of the Insurance Act 1964 to assess the Fund from time to time to see if it needs financial support. Where the Central Bank is of the opinion that the state of the ICF is such that financial support should be provided for it, it is allowed determine an appropriate contribution to be paid to the ICF by each insurer or insurer authorised in another Member State. This is calculated as a percentage determined by the Central Bank, not exceeding 2 per cent, of the aggregate of the gross premiums paid to the insurer or insurer authorised in another Member State in respect of policies issued in respect of risks in Ireland. Currently, the levy is set at 2 per cent.
The role of the Minister for Finance in relation to the ICF is prescribed in Insurance Act 1964. The Minister may, on the recommendation of the Central Bank, advance from time to time to the ICF such sum as he thinks proper to enable payments out of the Fund to be made expeditiously. Advances shall be made on such terms as to repayment, interest and other matters as may be determined by the Minister for Finance after consulting the Central Bank.
As Minister for Finance I also have a role to protect the interests of the Exchequer, and in that context I seek to ensure that any call on the ICF is kept to a minimum.
The balance of the Insurance Compensation Fund as at the 14th July 2015 was €20,433,116.82. It is anticipated that the Insurance Compensation Fund will be adequately funded to meet all expected claims on the fund.
178. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of hauliers availing of the rebate scheme for auto diesel; the total amount of the rebate in 2013 and 2014; his plans to streamline the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29808/15]
View answerThe Revenue Commissioners inform me that there are 2,139 qualifying road transport operators currently availing of the diesel rebate scheme. The total amount repaid to date for 2013 and 2014 is €0.7m and €22.7m, respectively.
To qualify for the repayment, a road transport operator must comply with certain requirements and conditions of the scheme. These requirements are designed to protect the scheme from abuse and restrict its application to legitimate operators. I am satisfied that the current arrangements reflect an appropriate balance between the need to process claims efficiently while controlling effectively the risk of fraudulent claims and I have no plans to change them.
179. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the amount of deposits covered by the deposit guarantee scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29809/15]
View answerThe Central Bank of Ireland is responsible for the operation of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS), which covers licensed credit institutions operating in the State.
The DGS covers deposits up to €100,000 per eligible depositor per credit institution. The amount of covered deposits currently stands at approximately €87bn.
180. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the tax expenditure, and the number of participants and jobs supported under the employment and investment incentive and seed capital scheme, in each year since its inception; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29810/15]
View answerA wide range of statistical information is available on the Revenue Commissioners' Statistics webpage: http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/index.html.
In relation to the Deputy's question, the latest detailed information on the costs of allowances and reliefs can be found in http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/index.html under the heading 'Costs of Tax Expenditures'. The relevant lines are "Employment and Investment Incentive (EII)'' and "Investment in Seed Capital". The latest full year for which information is available is 2013.
Provisional information for 2014 indicates that the cost for that year is likely to be in the region of €18.8 million for the Employment and Investment Incentive with 1,395 investors (including 5 EII funds) and 239 companies. For 2014, the current estimate of the cost associated with investments under the Seed Capital scheme is €1.8 million in relation to 59 investors and 54 companies.
Data in relation to the number of jobs supported should become available at a later stage. Under the terms of the incentive, relief in respect of 30% of the amount invested in a qualifying company is granted to the investor in the year of investment, while the balance is only due where it has been proven that employment levels have increased at the company at the end of the holding period (3 years), or where evidence is provided that the company used the capital raised for expenditure on research and development. Claims for the balance of the relief are due from this year.
181. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the latest information he has available as to the amount of small and medium enterprise debt outstanding; the amount which is in arrears; the amount classified as non-performing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29811/15]
View answerI am informed by the Central Bank that they do not publish statistics on SME debt as part of any of their statistical series. However, the Bank does publish the level of outstanding debt, through the statistical release "Trends in Business Credit and Deposits: Q1 2015", which indicates that total loans by Irish resident credit institutions to Irish resident SMEs was €52.8 billion at end-March. This publication is available on the Central Bank website at http://www.centralbank.ie/polstats/stats/cmab/Documents/2015q1_Trends_Business_Credit_and_Deposits.pdf
The Deputy may be interested in the Central Bank publication "SME Market Report 2015 H1", which reports on SME default numbers (as per the Basel II definition of default). This publication is available on the Central Bank website: http://www.centralbank.ie/publications/Documents/SME%20Market%20Report%202015H1.pdf.
182. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of projects in which the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund has invested; the number of new jobs created as a result of these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29812/15]
View answerThe Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) recently published its first Baseline Economic Impact Report. Key figures show that as at 31 December 2014:
- ISIF had committed €1.4 billion to investments in Ireland, with €726 million already drawn down.
- 79 Irish companies and projects with a combined annual turnover of €472 million benefit from ISIF investment.
- Approximately 8,362 jobs are supported directly and indirectly by ISIF investments.
Further information is available online at: http://www.ntma.ie/business-areas/ireland-strategic-investment-fund/.
183. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of Irish incorporated companies that are not judged to be resident here under the test of management and control, and which have advised the Revenue Commissioners as to where they are actually resident, since the change announced in budget 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29813/15]
View answerI would refer the Deputy to my previous answer to him from 5th February 2015 (Parliamentary Question Number 5372/15) which dealt with the change in company residence rules that I announced in Budget 2015.
As I explained at that time, I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they have been advised of companies that will be affected by the change in residence rules arising from Section 39 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2013. Because of the small number of cases companies involved, however, and having regard to the obligation in relation to confidentiality of taxpayer information, Revenue is precluded from providing the information requested.
184. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of residential mortgage holders in the Irish market classified as non-co-operating, under the code of conduct on mortgage arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29814/15]
View answerI am informed by the Central Bank that it does not publish statistics in relation to the number of non-co-operating borrowers under the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA). My Department publishes monthly data on mortgage arrears and restructures but it does not include data on non-co-operating borrowers. It is, therefore, not possible, to provide the Deputy with the requested breakdown of mortgage holders in the Irish market classified as non-co-operating.
It is worth repeating, however, that it is imperative that borrowers in arrears engage with their lender through timely responses to communications and co-operation with the preparation of the standard financial statement to avoid the risk of being classified as non-co-operating.
185. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of residential mortgages held by Irish banks that have been securitised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29815/15]
View answerThe Central Bank does not publish the number of securitised mortgages. However, Table A.18.2 of the Money, Credit and Banking statistics gives the value of securitised mortgages (no longer on the balance sheet of credit institutions) advanced to Irish resident private households for the purpose of house purchase by within-the-State offices of credit institutions.
This total was €36.7 billion at end-March 2015.
186. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of customers for whom tax relief on their private medical insurance is capped; the percentage this is of all customers claiming tax relief on private medical insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29816/15]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, since 16 October 2013, tax relief for medical insurance premiums has been restricted to the first €1,000 per adult and the first €500 per child insured. Any portion of premium paid in excess of these ceilings no longer qualifies for tax relief. Prior to this, income tax relief for medical insurance premiums was provided at source, at the standard rate of income tax, on the entire premium amount regardless of cost. Therefore, the State was paying 20% of the cost of all private medical insurance premiums.
I am informed by Revenue that returns for the year 2014, the first full year of operation of the ceiling, are not yet available, and therefore it is not possible as yet to determine the number of customers for whom tax relief was capped. It was estimated at the time of the introduction of the measure that 577,000 policy holders that provide cover for 1.1 million individuals may be affected by the ceilings.
Notwithstanding the recent reform, the tax system is still supporting those who can afford private medical insurance with the cost of the relief estimated at €354 million in 2014. Effectively that means that some taxpayers who could never afford private health insurance, or who have had to give up their policies due to personal circumstances, are continuing to provide financial support via the tax system to those individuals who can afford such insurance.
It should be noted that the Commission on Taxation in its 2009 report recommended the retention of medical insurance relief but that it should be limited. The introduction in Budget 2014 of an upper ceiling on the amount of medical insurance premiums that qualify for tax relief achieved this recommendation.
