Written Answers Nos. 109-127
109. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Finance the operational cost of the Fiscal Advisory Council in each of the years 2013 to date; the number of staff employed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46109/15]
View answerThe Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012 established the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council on a statutory basis in December 2012. The Council consists of five members, including the Chair. Further details about the operating costs and the number of staff employed by the Council set out for 2013 and 2014 in the following table can be accessed in the Annual Accounts of the Council which are published on the Council's website (www.fiscalcouncil.ie)
For 2015, an amount of €647,852 has been transferred to the Fiscal Council from the Central Fund to cover its operating costs. However, it should be noted that this amount remains subject to audit before being finalised.
|
Year |
Total operational cost |
Number of staff |
|
2013 |
€480,941 |
3 |
|
2014 |
€605,714 |
5 |
|
2015 |
€647,852 |
6 |
110. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the cost incurred by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation in respect of the work of the commission of investigation into certain transactions at the corporation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45665/15]
View answerI am advised by the Special Liquidators that they intend to issue their third progress update report on the Special Liquidation of IBRC in the first quarter of 2016. Included in this update report will be the work the Special Liquidators have undertaken in relation to the IBRC Commission of Investigation including details of the costs incurred to date by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (in Special Liquidation) in undertaking work for the Commission.
111. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the gross local property tax receipts with respect to properties in County Donegal for each of the years from 2013 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45720/15]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that statistics relating to Local Property Tax (LPT) can be found on the statistics webpage of the Revenue website at http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/index.html. Specifically, the most recently available LPT information, including LPT collected by each Local Authority area, is available at http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/lpt-compliance.html.
I am further advised that while gross receipts figures are not available, given the nature of LPT it is not expected that these would differ materially from net receipts published at the above website.
112. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the status of the liquidation of Setanta Insurance; if those caught up in outstanding claims are facing any losses; the role of the Insurance Compensation Fund and the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland; the number and value of outstanding claims; the shortfall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45737/15]
View answerThe liquidation of an insurance company is a legally complex process. Setanta is a Maltese incorporated company and, therefore, the Setanta liquidation is being carried out under Maltese law.
Progress in the liquidation of Setanta Insurance has been awaiting the outcome of legal proceedings in the case of the Law Society of Ireland versus the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (MIBI). On 4th September 2015, the High Court held that the MIBI is liable in respect of claims against the policy holders of Setanta. This decision is currently being appealed by the MIBI and the appeal hearing is scheduled for 12th-13th January 2016. As this case is sub-judice, there are certain matters which I am not in a position to comment on at this time. I am responding to the Deputy's question as best as I can within these constraints.
The Liquidator for Setanta has informed me that:
- The number of open claims was 1,696 as at 30th November 2015.
- The claims reserves position stands at between €87.7 million and €95.2 million.
- The Liquidator is continuing to accept new claims up until May 2016, two years after the insurance policies issued by Setanta were cancelled.
- Final settlements can only be paid out after all of the company's liabilities are quantified, including claims.
- The Liquidator reports that it is proving difficult to settle claims in advance of the MIBI appeal.
I expect to be in a better position to inform the House after the legal proceedings are concluded.
113. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Finance the amount his Department has received in fees from freedom of information requests in 2014 and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45759/15]
View answerThe fees received by my Department in respect of the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 in 2014 and to 14 December 2015 are set out in the following table. Since the commencement of the Freedom of Information Act, 2014 no fees are charged in respect of receipt of freedom of information requests.
|
Year |
Application Fees |
Search and Retrieval |
Internal Review Fees |
Refunds |
Total |
|
2014 |
1080.00 |
1368.65 |
375.00 |
- 309.12 |
2514.53 |
|
2015 (to 14/12/2015) |
0.00 |
920.00 |
300.00 |
- 148.00 |
1072.00 |
114. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the number of political staff working in his Department, including the role and salary of each staff member. [45786/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the number of political staff in my Department is four. The following is a list of their roles and annual salaries.
|
Role: |
Salary: |
|
Special Adviser |
€87,258 |
|
Personal Assistant |
€54,490 |
|
Civilian Driver |
€32,965.71 |
|
Civilian Driver |
€32,965.71 |
I do not have a Personal Secretary.
The number of political staff and their salaries adhere to the guidelines issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the appointment of Ministerial staff.
115. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Finance the number of Bills his Department has published since 9 March 2011; the number and Title of those Bills that included a regulatory impact assessment in advance of publication; the Regulatory Impact Assessments published; the number of promised Bills for publication; the Bills that will include a regulatory impact assessment; the regulatory impact assessments that will be published before publication of the relevant Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45808/15]
View answerIt has not been possible to collate the information requested in the time available. However the requested information will be collated and forwarded to the Deputy in writing.
116. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance when the central credit register will be fully operational; the steps taken in its implementation; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45822/15]
View answerI am advised by the Central Bank of Ireland that it plans to have a Central Credit Register (CCR) solution in place by mid-2016.
To date, the Central Bank has:
- Signed contracts with CRIF Ireland Limited in February 2015 to establish and operate the CCR on its behalf;
- Progressed a design stage to specify the detailed data requirements and conducted a data survey with representative lenders;
- Published a Consultation Paper in April 2015 seeking views on key issues, with 19 responses received by the closing date of 12 June (feedback on this will be published in the coming months);
- Progressed a privacy impact assessment to ensure the appropriate controls are in place to safeguard personal data across the end to end processes, and
- Commenced consultations with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on draft regulations to be made under the Credit Reporting Act 2013.
Work is continuing on finalising the CCR solution design. The take on of data will be implemented on a phased basis, with Phase 1 focusing on lending to consumers and Phase 2 focusing on lending to businesses.
It is expected that data submissions by lenders will commence in late 2016, but the final deadline will be influenced by the scale of the technical and operational changes to be implemented by lenders. Enquiries by lenders against the CCR data are likely to commence in early 2017 when data quality has been assured. Borrowers will be entitled to access their own credit reports at that time also. It should be noted that the provision of the CCR is a significant task and that the commencement of full operations will depend on data submissions from over 500 lenders.
117. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of residential mortgages that are classified as sub-prime; the number of sub-prime lenders operating in the market; the value of outstanding sub-prime mortgages; the rate of arrears on these; the actions specific to the sub-prime sector that are being taken to address arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45831/15]
View answerThe Central Bank has advised me that it is important to note that there is no such regulated category as "sub-prime lender". However, Retail Credit Firms are authorised to provide credit, in the form of cash loans, directly to individuals (these firms are not licensed to accept deposits). Some firms authorised in this category are mortgage lenders. Retail Credit Firms have been subject to regulation by the Central Bank since 1 February 2008. A register of all Retail Credit Firms is available on the Central Bank website at http://registers.centralbank.ie/DownloadsPage.aspx. As at 14 December 2015, 16 retail credit firms were subject to regulation by the Central Bank.
The Central Bank's Residential Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions Statistics: Q3 2015, which can be viewed at http://www.centralbank.ie/polstats/stats/mortgagearrears/Documents/2015q3_ie_mortgage_arrears_statistics.pdf, details figures on 'Residential Mortgages issued by Non-Bank Entities for both PDH and BTL properties. In Q3 2015 there were 47,461 PDH and BTL mortgage accounts held by non-bank entities, with an associated outstanding balance of just under €8.76bn, and associated arrears of almost €5.37bn (61.3 per cent of total outstanding balance).
In light of their activities, Retail Credit Firms are not subject to the same prudential supervisory regime as licensed credit institutions but are subject to the same Consumer Protection framework requirements including the Central Bank's statutory Consumer Protection Code and the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears ('CCMA').
The CCMA sets out requirements for all mortgage lenders, including Retail Credit Firms, dealing with borrowers in arrears or pre-arrears on a mortgage loan which is secured by their primary residence (as defined). It provides a strong consumer protection framework to ensure that borrowers struggling to keep up mortgage repayments are treated in a fair and transparent manner by their lender and that long term resolution is sought by lenders with each of their borrowers.
The Central Bank engages with Retail Credit Firms in relation to their treatment of borrowers under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), as provided for in the CCMA. The MARP sets out the steps which lenders must follow, e.g. communicate with the borrower, gather financial information, assess the borrowers circumstances and propose a resolution.
118. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Finance his views on the income that is deductible for taxation purposes from rent on a property which has a mortgage loan on it and where the property owner owns no other property and is not deriving a net income from the rent (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45847/15]
View answerAs regards properties that are rented, an individual may be allowed a deduction of 75% of the interest paid on borrowed money used to purchase, improve or repair rented premises when calculating rental income. There are also a number of other allowances and deductions available to reduce the tax on rental income paid. These include, for example, the cost to the landlord of any goods provided or services rendered to a tenant and the cost of maintenance, repairs, insurance and management of the property.
The Office of the Revenue Commissioners has published a guide to the income tax treatment of rental income. It sets out the amount of rental income to be taken account of for income tax purposes and provides a comprehensive list of expenditure items that are allowable for deduction in computing rental income for tax purposes. This guide is available at: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it70.html.
In the current Finance Bill I have provided for a full 100% interest deduction where the landlord undertakes, for a period of at least three years, to provide accommodation to tenants in receipt of social housing supports and registers such undertakings with the Private Residential Tenancies Board within certain time limits.
I am conscious of the challenges that individuals continue to face, despite the improving economic conditions. However I would also note that the changes to the income tax system included in Budget 2015 mean that individuals who paid Income Tax and or USC in 2014 have seen a reduction in their tax bill in 2015 where incomes are equal. Budget 2016 is now continuing this process of reducing the tax burden on low and middle income earners including, among other changes, a decrease in the three lowest rates of USC announced to take effect from January 2016.
119. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his plans to amend the applicable rates of value added tax so that school uniforms of all sizes are rated at 0%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45936/15]
View answerThe VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. In this regard, the rate of VAT that applies to a particular good or service is determined by the nature of the good or service, and not by the status of the customer.
Children's clothing and footwear are subject to the zero rate for children which is defined as the average build of a 10 year old in the VAT Consolidation Act 2010. The zero rating applies according to the following criteria:
- all children's clothing of sizes up to and including 32" chest or 26" waist; and,
- children's footwear up to and including size 5½ (38 continental or equivalent).
Under the EU VAT Directive, Member States may retain the zero rates on goods and services which were in place on 1 January 1991, but cannot extend the zero rate to new goods and services. As school uniforms for people over 10 years of age were not subject to the zero rate on 1 January 1991, it is not possible to apply the zero rate to these uniforms now.
In addition, Member States may apply a reduced VAT rate to those goods and services which are listed under Annex III of the EU VAT Directive. As clothes and shoes are not listed under this Annex the reduced rate cannot be applied to the supply of school uniforms. Therefore the only rate of VAT that can apply to the supply of school uniforms for children over 10 years of age is the standard VAT rate of 23%.
120. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his estimate of the cost of mortgage interest relief for owner occupiers in 2016 and 2017, assuming interest rates do not change in the meantime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45937/15]
View answerAs I advised the Deputy in response to his Question No. 74 of 26 November 2015, figures for the cost of mortgage interest relief in 2014 and 2015 are highly provisional.
The cost of relief for 2016 and 2017 will depend on a variety of factors, including the numbers of mortgages, the monetary amount of the qualifying loans taken out, the rate of relief applying to those qualifying loans, the year the qualifying loans were taken out and the extent to which the ceilings for relief are impacted by changes in interest rates. Taking these issues into consideration, my Department and Revenue will review forecasts for the following years after the end year 2015 receipts are finalised.
121. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the fees the National Asset Management Agency incurred in appointing receivers to its debtors; and the number of persons and professional firms it appointed as receivers in each of the years to date. [45938/15]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is set out in the following table.
|
Period |
Appointments |
Total Fees €m* |
|
2010 |
79 |
2.06 |
|
2011 |
67 |
15.45 |
|
2012 |
64 |
19.66 |
|
2013 |
101 |
22.29 |
|
2014 |
73 |
23.02 |
|
2015 to date |
23 |
17.32 |
Notes:
*Receiver fees form part of the receivership and are met out of receivership realisations. Fees for an insolvency are set by reference to the procurement process relating to the selection and appointment of the insolvency practitioner. Typically fees reduce as the assignment progresses and the level of assets reduces by way of disposals or otherwise. However, this depends on the complexity of the insolvency and the fact that issues can emerge during the insolvency.
I am advised by NAMA that it has selected 70 separate firms from a panel appointed after a public procurement process in respect of these appointments.
122. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the interest rate that applies on the €25 billion of floating-rate notes held by the Central Bank of Ireland as a result of the promissory note transaction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45939/15]
View answerThe Offering Circulars for the Floating Rate Notes are available on the NTMA website at http://www.ntma.ie/business-areas/funding-and-debt-management/government-bonds/. These outline the individual interest rate applied to each FRN.
The nominal outstanding of the FRNs is now €23.034bn and not €25bn.
The interest rates applied range from 6-mth Euribor +253bps to +268bps. 6-mth Euribor today is -3.9bps.
The 6-month Euribor is reset every 6 months. The last coupons fixed on 16th June were reset on 18th June. 6-mth Euribor was +5.1bps on 16th June. The coupons will fix at 6-mth Euribor on 16th December for reset on 18th December.
123. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of initiatives he has announced which have not commenced due to waiting for European Union state aid approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45940/15]
View answerIt has not been possible to collate the information requested in the time available. However the requested information will be collated and forwarded to the Deputy in writing.
124. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of housing units the National Asset Management Agency has approved and transferred for social housing, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45941/15]
View answerI am advised that NAMA has made a substantial contribution to social housing provision, as illustrated by the breakdown set out in the following table.
NAMA has to date facilitated the delivery of 2,000 houses and apartments for social housing through its debtors and receivers and directly through its social housing special purpose company, NARPS. This equates to more than one-third of total Part V social housing delivery in the period between 2002 and 2011 when over 500,000 new private houses were built in the State. In delivering these units for social housing, I am further advised that NAMA has incurred costs of over €220m in remediating and finishing off houses and apartments so that they could be lived in and in buying properties from its debtors and receivers for onward leasing through NARPS to local authorities and approved housing bodies.
|
Region |
Offered by NAMA |
Demand Confirmed by Local Authorities |
Delivered |
|
Carlow Co. Co. |
225 |
150 |
138 |
|
Cavan Co. Co. |
49 |
1 |
- |
|
Clare Co. Co. |
233 |
66 |
32 |
|
Cork City |
500 |
169 |
133 |
|
Cork Co. Co. |
789 |
308 |
280 |
|
Donegal Co. Co |
118 |
32 |
5 |
|
Dublin City Council |
828 |
391 |
379 |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co. Co. |
332 |
143 |
93 |
|
Fingal County Council |
279 |
114 |
106 |
|
Galway City Council |
203 |
202 |
197 |
|
Galway Co. Co. |
135 |
40 |
24 |
|
Kerry Co. Co. |
219 |
131 |
42 |
|
Kildare Co. Co. |
298 |
122 |
113 |
|
Kilkenny Co. Co. |
183 |
63 |
55 |
|
Laois Co. Co |
98 |
1 |
- |
|
Leitrim Co. Co. |
35 |
0 |
- |
|
Limerick City and County Council |
147 |
55 |
16 |
|
Longford Co. Co |
31 |
0 |
- |
|
Louth County Council |
30 |
27 |
27 |
|
Mayo Co. Co |
75 |
31 |
- |
|
Meath Co. Co. |
235 |
63 |
38 |
|
Monaghan Co. Co |
42 |
39 |
- |
|
Offaly Co. Co. |
79 |
32 |
29 |
|
Roscommon Co. Co. |
136 |
10 |
- |
|
Sligo Co. Co |
111 |
29 |
4 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
591 |
131 |
119 |
|
Tipperary Co. Co |
161 |
13 |
- |
|
Waterford Co. Co. |
103 |
51 |
51 |
|
Westmeath Co. Co |
108 |
25 |
20 |
|
Wexford Co. Co |
225 |
132 |
92 |
|
Wicklow Co. Co. |
36 |
7 |
7 |
|
Total |
6,634 |
2,578 |
2,000 |
125. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of applications for rent reviews received by developers whose debts are owned by the National Asset Management Agency; and the number which were successful. [45942/15]
View answerI am advised by NAMA that it has received 388 eligible rent abatement applications through its debtors and receivers. NAMA has approved 376 of these and declined just 12. NAMA approved rent abatements are worth €24m annually to the SME retail sector in Ireland.
126. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of taxpayers who were impacted in 2014 by the restriction on tax relief on contributions to large pension pots, as outlined in budget 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45943/15]
View answerThe Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) is the maximum allowable pension fund on retirement for tax purposes. The SFT was reduced in Budget 2014 and Finance (No 2) Act 2013 from €2.3 million to a level of €2 million, with effect from 1 January 2014. The legislation provided that any individual who had pension rights in excess of the SFT limit at the relevant date (i.e. 1 January 2014) was entitled to protect or "grandfather" those rights by applying to the Revenue Commissioners for a Personal Fund Threshold (PFT) certificate.
When the SFT was reduced to €2 million from 1 January 2014, the deadline for making a PFT application was 31 July 2015 and, by that date, Revenue had received a total of 749 applications for PFT certificates.
The reduction in the SFT also had an impact on individuals who had pension rights of less than €2 million as at 1 January 2014, but whose pension rights could possibly attain a level of between €2 million and €2.3 million at a later stage had the SFT limit not been reduced. It is not possible, however, to provide any estimate of the number of individuals who might have been impacted by this reduction.
127. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the saving in 2014 from restricting tax relief on private medical insurance policies to the first €1,000 of premiums. [45944/15]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the potential yield to the Exchequer in 2014 of restricting tax relief on private medical insurance policies to the first €1,000 of a premium is tentatively estimated to be in the order of €151 million.
