Written Answers Nos. 89-103
89. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the amount of child benefit paid in respect of children living in other European Union countries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8444/16]
View answerThe social security rights of people living and working in the EU are governed by EU Regulations which co-ordinate social security systems and are designed to ensure that people are not disadvantaged by moving within the EU to take up work. Accordingly, EU nationals who come to work in Ireland but whose families reside in another EU Member State may have an entitlement to family benefits (child benefit) in Ireland under EU regulations.
Child benefit was in payment in respect of 4,959 families resident in other EU states, covering a total of 8,081 children at 31st March 2016.
The total cost of child benefit paid in respect of children residing in other EU Member States during 2015 was 12.7 million.
90. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the disability allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8457/16]
View answerI can confirm that the department received an application for disability allowance (DA) from the above named person on 12 November 2015. This application for DA, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds and the person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 25 January 2016.
The person in question requested a review of the decision by a deciding officer (DO) and submitted additional evidence for consideration. The person concerned has been requested to supply supporting documentation required by the DO in order to review her eligibility for DA. On receipt of this information, the review will be completed and the person concerned will be notified of the outcome.
91. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of the Dublin Airport Authority pension scheme and the cuts incurred by the deferred Irish aviation superannuation scheme pensioners (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8481/16]
View answerI am very aware of the issues arising and very negative consequences caused by the problems in the Irish Airlines (General Employees) Superannuation Scheme (IASS) for all active, deferred and pensioner members and appreciate the difficulties presented to all stakeholders in addressing the significant deficit in this scheme. However, you will appreciate that the funding difficulties in this scheme are primarily a matter for the Trustees, the companies participating in the scheme, the scheme members and the Pensions Authority and I cannot comment on specific issues arising in a particular scheme or schemes.
Defined benefit pension schemes in Ireland are, in general, set up under trust law. From a regulatory perspective the Trustees of pension schemes must comply with the provisions in the Pensions Act 1990 which, among other things, sets down certain requirements in relation to scheme funding. In response to the funding difficulties faced by defined benefit schemes generally, a number of changes have been made to the Pensions Act in recent years to assist employers and trustees respond to the funding difficulties encountered by many schemes. The Pensions Act was amended in 2009 and again in 2013 to broaden the options available to trustees of pension scheme in the context of a restructure of scheme benefits. These changes provided for the sharing of the risk of underfunding in a scheme across all scheme members. The manner in which these options are exercised is a matter for the trustees of a scheme who are required under trust law to act in the best interest of scheme members and beneficiaries.
Should the Pensions Authority become aware that Trustees are not in compliance with the provisions of the Pensions Act, it has the power to investigate the state and conduct of a pension scheme.
I am aware that intense efforts were made over a number of years to resolve the issues arising in the IASS scheme. The funding solution proposed by the IASS, which the trustee group made clear was considered the solution that was in the best interest of the members as a whole, was approved by the Pensions Authority and was implemented in December 2014. I am also conscious that the outcome, although not ideal, was preferable to the alternatives, including the wind up of the Scheme.
92. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the disability allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8484/16]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 11th April 2016. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral appeal hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
93. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8486/16]
View answerFollowing a successful appeal, the person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 19 August 2015. The first payment will be made by his chosen payment method on 27 April 2016.
Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if applicable).
94. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the disability allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8489/16]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 21st April 2016. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral appeal hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
95. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the options available to enable a person (details supplied) who is in receipt of a disability allowance to return to level five education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8490/16]
View answerThe person concerned is in receipt of disability allowance (DA) and is currently participating in a level five course under the vocational training opportunities scheme (VTOS). If he wishes to pursue another level five course in the 2016/17 academic year, he must notify the department and will remain on the DA scheme providing all the conditions for receipt of that scheme continue to be satisfied.
96. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if, and when, she will issue a fuel allowance to persons (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8497/16]
View answerFuel allowance may be payable to certain applicants in receipt of long-term social welfare payments, who are unable to provide for their household heating needs. The allowance is subject to a means test and is paid only to those who live alone or with certain exempted persons. Full details of the qualifying criteria are available on the Department’s website at www.welfare.ie.
An application for fuel allowance was received from the person concerned on 16 February 2016. The person’s weekly household means when assessed were in excess of the current weekly income limit for fuel allowance. On that basis, the application was disallowed and the person concerned was notified of the decision on 20 April 2016.
Following a telephone request from the person concerned, the decision was reviewed. A further letter was issued on 25 April 2016, explaining that the eligibility conditions for fuel allowance are not satisfied due to the household income being in excess of the applicable weekly limit.
97. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to relax the criteria for applications under the back to education allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8501/16]
View answerThe objective of the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is to assist those who are distant from the labour market to acquire the necessary education to improve their chances of becoming independent of the social welfare system. Administration of BTEA by this Department is aligned with the student support schemes under the Department of Education and Skills.
The Allowance enables social welfare customers in receipt of certain payments to pursue full-time education courses and to continue to receive income support in the form of the BTEA, subject to the customer remaining eligible for a DSP payment. In general, most customers will also have certain registration and related college fees paid by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI).
The operation of the BTEA has been comprehensively revised over the past two years and I have no plans to further alter the current criteria, as set out in the 2016 scheme guidelines.
98. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown by each sector, regarding the amount of Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland funding, which has been drawn down using the agriculture investment loan scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8409/16]
View answerThe Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) began lending in March 2015. Its goal is to increase the availability of funding to SMEs, at a lower cost and on more flexible terms, than has been available in recent times on the Irish Market. The SBCI channels its funds through lending partners known as on-lenders. The SBCI currently has three bank and two non-bank on-lending partners.
The Agricultural Investment Loan Scheme is a product that is available from the SBCI through its on-lending partners. The Agricultural Investment Loan Scheme is available to agricultural SMEs involved in primary agricultural production, the processing of agricultural products or the marketing of agricultural products. The Agricultural Investment Loan Scheme can only be used for investment purposes. Certain sub-sectors and activities within the agriculture sector are not eligible for funding though this particular product.
The features of this product include: lower interest rates, loan amounts up to €5 million and a minimum loan maturity. Additional features that may be available to qualifying SMEs include: repayment schedule flexibility, loan maturity of up to 10 years and a facility maturity that is tailored to correspond with the investment life cycle of the SME.
Up to December 2015 the SBCI has lent just under €172 million to approximately 4,600 SMEs. €44,008,582 of this funding was lent under the Agricultural Investment Loan Scheme to 1,765 SMEs across Ireland.
99. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 91 of 14 April 2016, if he is, or was, aware of a bank's involvement with a firm of contractors (details supplied). [8135/16]
View answerAs I highlighted previously in answering parliamentary question 91, I was not Minister for Finance in 2009 when events referred to by the Deputy may have taken place. Notwithstanding this, I can confirm that I am not aware of the matter as described.
100. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if persons who are disabled drivers in accordance with SI 353 of 1994 qualify for the exemption on motor tax for cars that are not adapted but are automatic, and, therefore, suited to their needs; and if persons who qualify as disabled under the regulations qualify for the fuel tax exemptions if their cars have not been adapted but suit their needs. [8130/16]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that Statutory Instrument No. 353 of 1994 (Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994) provides for certain tax reliefs where a number of qualifying criteria are met. Regulation 8(1) provides that in order to qualify for relief from VRT and VAT, a vehicle must be specifically constructed or adapted to take account of a person's disablement. This criterion is not met where the vehicle is an automatic irrespective of whether or not it is suited to the person's needs. In this case, exemption from motor tax does not arise as regulation 17 provides for the remission of motor tax only where a vehicle has qualified for the VRT and VAT relief.
Statutory Instrument No. 635 of 2015 (Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Fuel Grant Regulations 2015) provides for the payment of a grant relating to the use of certain fuel in the engine of a vehicle used by a severely and permanently disabled person. One of the criteria necessary for qualification for the grant is that the disablement of the driver is of such a nature that the person concerned could not drive any vehicle unless it is specifically constructed or adapted to take account of that disablement. Therefore, a grant under these regulations would not be available to a driver in relation to a vehicle which is not specifically constructed or adapted to take account of that person's disablement but only has a normal automatic transmission.
Details of the tax scheme and the qualifying criteria are on the Revenue website at the following link:
http://www.revenue.ie/en/spotlights/disabled-drivers-passengers-scheme.html .
Details of the fuel grant are on the Department of Finance website at the following link:
http://www.finance.gov.ie/what-we-do/tax-policy/publications/information-drivers-passengers-disabilities-fuel-grant .
101. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance to direct the National Asset Management Agency to cease sales to vulture funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8109/16]
View answerI wish to clarify my role, as Minister for Finance, in relation to NAMA and the powers of direction afforded to the Minister under the NAMA Act 2009. Under Section 14(1) of the NAMA Act 2009 "[t]he Minister may give a direction in writing to NAMA concerning the achievement of the purposes of this Act". Section 2 of the NAMA Act 2009 outlines its purposes.
NAMA has a well established mandate, under Section 10 of the Act, to achieve the best possible return to the Irish State by protecting, enhancing where possible, and ultimately realising the value of assets it has acquired. In order to achieve the maximum return to the taxpayer, NAMA was established as an independent commercial body under the direction of an independent board. As such, I do not have a role in NAMA's commercial decisions and, moreover, the NAMA Act safeguards NAMA's independence to pursue its objectives, while also being accountable to the Minister and the Oireachtas.
I would point out to the Deputy that NAMA is operating within its mandate, and is progressing its objectives, as required by the NAMA Act 2009. Therefore, I do not propose to issue a direction, regarding the achievement of the purposes of the Act, at this time. I would also contend that a move to exclude any class of market participants would, in fact, be counter-productive to NAMA achieving its overriding mandate of securing the maximum possible return to the Irish taxpayer.
102. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the details of the €2.8 billion the Revenue Commissioners recovered through their investigations into offshore accounts, including details of individual cases; details of the other financial product investigations that are contained in the €2.8 billion; and the corresponding amounts by year they occurred in tabular form. [8247/16]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the cumulative yield, to the end of 2015, from investigations into offshore accounts and other financial products is €2,808 million. A breakdown of that amount by investigation, for the years 1998 to 2004 inclusive and for each year from 2005 to 2015, is given in the following table.
|
Investigation |
1998-2004 €m |
2005 €m |
2006 €m |
2007 €m |
2008 €m |
2009 €m |
2010 €m |
2011 €m |
2012 €m |
2013 €m |
2014 €m |
2015 €m |
Total €m |
|
Offshore Assets |
713.2 |
83.5 |
55.3 |
54.1 |
29.0 |
18.3 |
7.96 |
10.59 |
12.81 |
14.87 |
9.46 |
8.22 |
1,017.31 |
|
Bogus Non Resident Accounts |
562.2 |
47.0 |
15.5 |
10.1 |
4.1 |
7.7 |
1.32 |
0.61 |
0.52 |
0.02 |
- |
- |
649.07 |
|
Life Assurance Products |
- |
382.0 |
33.0 |
30.5 |
18.7 |
12.05 |
5.98 |
3.51 |
3.98 |
0.59 |
0.07 |
.05 |
490.41 |
|
Deposit Interest Retention Tax |
225.0 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
225.00 |
|
Trusts & Offshore Structures |
|
|
|
|
|
17.58 |
19.02 |
4.12 |
5.94 |
3.53 |
14.98 |
52.17 |
117.34
|
|
Ansbacher |
45.4 |
10.35 |
10.67 |
35.2 |
2.47 |
3.21 |
0.14 |
2.0 |
3.25 |
0.08 |
- |
-
|
112.77 |
|
Interest Reporting |
|
|
|
|
21.0 |
55.3 |
8.70 |
2.12 |
2.19 |
0.26 |
0.29 |
0.51 |
90.37 |
|
National Irish Bank |
53.5 |
3.44 |
1.9 |
0.76 |
0.31 |
0.19 |
0.06 |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
60.14 |
|
Tribunals |
25.75 |
10.44 |
3.21 |
1.58 |
0.06 |
- |
- |
|
1.76 |
0.27 |
- |
2.69 |
45.76 |
|
Totals |
1,625.0 |
536.7 |
119.6 |
132.2 |
75.6 |
114.3 |
43.18 |
22.95 |
30.45 |
19.62 |
24.81 |
63.64 |
2,808.17 |
(Note: Minor differences in totals are due to rounding)
The Deputy will appreciate that the Revenue Commissioners are precluded, by the provisions of section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 relating to taxpayer confidentiality, from giving details of individual cases.
103. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Finance the status of a company (details supplied) that is located here, trading, paying all its taxes, has its certificate of incorporation and has business permission, but is unable to avail of banking services as the directors are originally from Syria but no longer reside there. [8233/16]
View answerFirstly, let me make clear that the banks in Ireland are independent institutions and I, as Minister for Finance, have no role in operational matters in the banks including decisions in relation to the granting of banking services.
If the company has made a formal complaint to the financial service provider in question about the refusal to provide banking services as the directors are from Syria and is not satisfied with the outcome, it may be possible to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman.
The Financial Services Ombudsman investigates, in an impartial and independent manner, complaints from individual customers and small businesses who have unresolved disputes with financial service providers which are regulated by the Central Bank. All personal customers, unincorporated bodies, charities, clubs, partnerships, trusts, and limited companies with a turnover of €3,000,000 or less can complain to the Ombudsman.
Investigations by the Financial Services Ombudsman are free of charge to the customer.
