Written Answers Nos. 17-26
17. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Finance the status of the case of a person (details supplied) who paid vehicle registration tax on an imported car; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9289/16]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) paid by the person concerned was based on the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) of the vehicle at the time of registration. The VRT charged was confirmed both by a Revenue Appeals Officer and by the Appeal Commissioner.
A valid NCT certificate is required for the vehicle to now qualify for the export repayment scheme. Any VRT repayment would be based on the OMSP at the time of export.
18. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the degree to which he monitors the performance of all Government Departments and State or semi-State agencies with a view to maximising their contribution toward economic recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9303/16]
View answerThis question is more appropriate for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. A similar question (ref: 25136/15) was answered on Tuesday 23rd June 2015.
19. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Finance to provide details of receipts for betting duty from traditional, remote and commissions, for 2016, to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9312/16]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the betting duty receipts for traditional, remote and commissions, for January to March 2016 are outlined in the following table.
|
|
Traditional Bet |
Remote Bet |
Commissions |
Total |
|
|
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
|
2016 (Jan Mar) |
6.9 |
4.8 |
0.4 |
12.1 |
The receipts shown for each category are provisional at this time.
20. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress made between the Office of Public Works and Kildare County Council, regarding flooding prevention measures in the Lower Morell area of the county, which has seen consistent flooding from the River Liffey. [9315/16]
View answerKildare County Council (KCC), in consultation with the Office of Public Works (OPW), engaged consulting engineers to carry out a Full Feasibility Study, Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Lower Morrell River and the surrounding river catchment in order to resolve the outstanding localised flooding issues in the Straffan area. A Steering Group which comprises representatives of KCC, the OPW and the consultants was set up to advance the project.
KCC and its consultants submitted a Draft Options Report/Feasibility Study to the OPW in 2014. Following consideration of the draft report by the OPW, it was agreed by the Steering Group that the consultants would carry out a review of the proposed scheme. The review would investigate if additional or alternative and more cost effective measures could be put in place to alleviate flooding in the area. Any changes identified by the review process would need to be incorporated into the CBA and EIS before the scheme can be advanced.
I am advised that the consultants have completed the review process and KCC has submitted its findings to the OPW. It is expected that the Steering Group will be meeting shortly with the aim of finalising the Feasibility Report. Once the Feasibility Report has been finalised, and provided the scheme is still economically and environmentally viable, KCC and the OPW will decide on how best to advance the proposed works. I can confirm that the Lower Morrell scheme remains a priority and the OPW has included provision for the cost of the proposed works in its financial profiles in the period up to 2018.
21. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will clarify a query from persons (details supplied) regarding a plot of land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9349/16]
View answerI am advised by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland that further investigation is required to determine ownership of the plot of land in question. A full response will issue upon receipt of such clarification.
22. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to support a matter (details supplied) regarding employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9317/16]
View answerThis Department does not have positions at usher or Government messenger grades.
All open recruitment for this Department is undertaken by the Public Appointments Service. More information on opportunities in the Civil Service can be found on the Public Appointments Service website www.publicjobs.ie .
23. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will issue payment to a person (details supplied) under the young farmers scheme; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9197/16]
View answerThe person named submitted applications under the ‘young farmer’ category of the 2015 National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme. The applications were successful and payment issued on 17th December 2015.
24. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will issue payment to a person (details supplied) under the young farmers scheme; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9198/16]
View answerThe person named submitted an application under the ‘young farmer’ category of the 2015 National Reserve. This application was not successful as the applicant did not hold either low value entitlements or so called ‘naked land’ on which an allocation from the National Reserve could be made.
The person named contacted my Department directly in April 2016 regarding their application and informed my Department that a mistake was made on the application and they had intended to apply for the Young Farmers Scheme. This application has now been successfully processed and payment issued on 28th April 2016.
25. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to investigate reports that Irish greyhounds are being exported to Hong Kong in order to be raced at the track known as the Canidrome in Macau in China and to immediately take steps to halt such exports, given the decision in 2012 by the Irish Government to halt the export of greyhounds to China by Bord na gCon on animal welfare grounds given the very poor animal safety record of the Canidrome, and given that Australia's greyhound body has banned the export of greyhounds to Macau because it does not meet contemporary animal welfare standards. [9204/16]
View answerOnce appropriate animal health and welfare certification requirements are met, dogs, including greyhounds, may be exported internationally. Exporters are also required to comply with the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1 of 2005 on the protection of animals during transport. The Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) has recently advised all owners involved in the export of greyhounds to only export to destinations that provide the expected levels of care and management as defined in the IGB's Code of Practice for the welfare of greyhounds.
26. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to report on the rent collected and the arrears in all tenancies of State property at Howth Harbour in County Dublin in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9207/16]
View answerHowth Fishery Harbour Centre is one of the six designated Fishery Harbour Centres which are owned and managed by my Department under Statute. There are a total of 70 properties/sites in the Howth Fishery Harbour Centre property portfolio, the majority of which are occupied by a variety of public and commercial bodies which support the Fishery Harbour Centre’s role as a working fishery harbour in addition to a broad range of other activities.
In 2015 my Department collected a total of €561,794 in respect of income from these properties including rent and licence fees. When I last responded to the Deputy on this matter on October 1st 2015 the rental arrears stood at €603,395; at 31st December 2015 these arrears stood at €538,451. The majority of these arrears relate to legacy issues which my Department is actively addressing in conjunction with its legal advisers and the individual tenants concerned.
Since taking over responsibility for the management and operation of the Fishery Harbour Centres my Department has established a dedicated Property Unit to manage the property portfolio. In addition, my Department worked closely with the Chief State Solicitor’s Office to increase the legal capacity resource for progressing the often complex and protracted legal aspects relating to outstanding property cases. An additional solicitor was employed by the Chief State Solicitor’s Office at my Department’s request to deal exclusively with Fishery Harbour Centre property portfolio, the cost of which is being met from the Department’s Fishery Harbour Centre Fund.
In addition, a dedicated Debt Recovery Unit was established in October 2009 to address the debt that had developed in the harbours predating my Department. In 2013, my Department's Management Advisory Committee set up a Debtor Review Group comprising representatives from Accounts, Finance and Legal Services Divisions to assist and give direction to debtor divisions in the area of debt management. A Central Debt Management Group has also been formed to monitor compliance and debt levels.
