Written Answers Nos. 49-55
49. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of an application for naturalisation status by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11114/16]
View answerI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the records indicate that the person referred to by the Deputy was presented with a Certificate of Naturalisation at a citizenship ceremony held at the Convention Centre, Dublin on 27 August 2013.
The Deputy may wish to note that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been established specifically for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
50. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the process for persons applying under the spent convictions Act; the timeframe for dealing with such applications and the criteria involved. [11159/16]
View answerThere is no application process required for a conviction to deemed spent. The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 provides that convictions that are eligible to be spent no longer have to be declared and that the convicted person will not be penalised in law for failing to disclose a spent conviction.
In accordance with the provisions of the Act the following convictions which are more than 7 years old are now regarded as spent:
All convictions in the District Court for motoring offences, with the proviso that spent convictions for dangerous driving are limited to a single conviction.
All convictions in the District Court for minor public order offences.
In addition, where a person has one, and only one, conviction (other than a motoring or public order offence) which resulted in a term of imprisonment of less than 12 months (or a fine) that conviction is also spent after 7 years. This can be a District Court or Circuit Court conviction.
The Act was commenced in full on the 29th of April 2016.
51. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Finance if he will refund pay-related social insurance contributions made in error by a person (details supplied) while in receipt of farm assist prior to the rule change in about 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10968/16]
View answerI am advised that Revenue collects Pay Related Social Insurance from self-employed persons.
In line with the requirements of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, a claim for repayment must be made to Revenue within 4 years of the end of the tax year to which the claim relates. I understand from Revenue that no claim for a refund of Pay Related Social Insurance has been received from the person concerned. It is not now possible for such a claim to be made by the person concerned for 2007 or prior years due to that statutory time limit.
52. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Finance if value-added tax should be removed from automated external defibrillator machines; how he intends to remove it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10981/16]
View answerThe VAT rating of goods and services is constrained by the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. Defibrillators, other than implantable defibrillators, are liable to VAT at the standard rate, currently 23%. Parts or accessories and training are also liable to VAT at the standard rate.
There is no provision in VAT law that would make it possible to apply a reduced rate or zero rate to the supply of such products. Under the EU VAT Directive, Member States may retain the zero rate on goods and services which were in place on 1 January 1991, but cannot extend the zero rate to new goods and services. In addition, Member States may only apply a reduced VAT rate to those goods and services which are listed under Annex III of the VAT Directive. While Annex III does include the supply of medical equipment for the exclusive personal use of a disabled person, it does not include defibrillators for general use. In this regard, a reduced rate cannot be applied to the supply of defibrillators. Therefore the only rate that can apply to the supply of defibrillators and their accessories is the standard VAT rate of 23%.
The Programme for Partnership Government commits to raising the issue of VAT rates applying to certain products such as defibrillators at EU level. The European Commission's Action Plan on VAT was adopted on 7th April 2016 and contains a proposal to look at VAT rate policy across the EU in 2017. The rates proposal may offer Member States more flexibility in the future in determining VAT rates applicable to goods and services, and this forum will provide an opportunity to discuss VAT applicable to defibrillators. However, the Deputy will be aware that any proposed changes to the current EU VAT Directive would require unanimous agreement from all Member States.
53. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance his Department's recent dealings with the European Commission relating to the ongoing investigation into tax arrangements of a company (details supplied) in Ireland and if he has an expected date for the verdict of the investigation. [10995/16]
View answerIn June 2014, the Competition Directorate of the European Commission announced its intention to open formal state aid investigations into tax rulings provided to a number of companies in various Member States of the European Union.
This announcement is part of a much wider review of tax ruling practice that is currently being undertaken by the European Commission covering all 28 Member States.
Since October 2015, investigations in three other Member States have concluded. In each of these cases the Commission found that the Member States granted an illegal State Aid to the companies in question.
I would like to emphasise that, while the Commission has opened a formal investigation in relation to one particular case involving Ireland, it has not made a final determination in the matter. There is no formal timeline for a when the final decision will be made in our case.
This a priority matter and Ireland has co-operated fully with the process to date and will continue to do so. Detailed and comprehensive responses have been provided to the Commission demonstrating that the appropriate amount of Irish tax was charged in accordance with the relevant legislation, that no selective advantage was given and that there was no State Aid.
I remain of the view that there was no breach of State Aid rules in this case and that the legislative provisions were correctly applied. In the event that the Commission forms the view that there was state aid, Ireland is entitled to challenge this decision in the European Courts. As the Government have already indicated, we will take that course of action, if necessary, to continue to vigorously defend the Irish position.
As I have said previously, there is simply no question that the Irish authorities sought to give the company in question any kind of special tax deal.
54. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Finance why religious organisations are not subject to the same level of financial scrutiny as secular organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10999/16]
View answerIn replying to the Deputy's Question I am assuming that she is referring to organisations with a charitable status and who have the charitable tax exemption.
The Deputy will be aware that the regulatory control of charities is a matter for the Charities Regulatory Authority which was established on 16 October 2014 in accordance with the 2009 Charities Act. Revenue's role is confined to administering the charitable tax exemption as provided for by Section 207 of the Taxes Consolidation Act. This role includes processing and vetting applications from bodies claiming the tax exemption and once granted, undertaking appropriate compliance checks, having regard to risk, to ensure continued compliance with the relevant terms and conditions.
Revenue has assured me that bodies that have charitable tax exemption are subject to an appropriate level of compliance monitoring, having regard to its overall risk focused compliance intervention programmes. Compliance interventions are not determined by whether the body concerned is religious or secular.
I am also informed by Revenue that religious organisations who have employees are obliged to operate PAYE/PRSI in respect of their employees and are subject to the same degree of risk based interventions as any other organisation.
55. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Finance the status of an application by a person (details supplied) for a tax clearance certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11016/16]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that the matter to which the Deputy refers has been addressed through direct contact with the persons concerned and tax clearance has been granted.
