Written Answers Nos. 103-111
103. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Finance when forms A and B ceased to be a valid registration form for IIA firms authorised to undertake insurance mediation before the commencement of the European Communities Regulations 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7920/18]
View answer104. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Finance when form A and B ceased to be valid registration forms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7921/18]
View answer105. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Finance the number of IIA firms authorised to undertake insurance mediation before the commencement of the IMD regulations; and the firms currently registered and those that were registered with forms A and B. [7922/18]
View answer106. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Finance the number of IIA firms authorised to undertake insurance mediation before the commencement of the IMD regulations that are currently registered and were registered under the current registration process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7923/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 103 to 106, inclusive, together.
I am advised by the Central Bank of Ireland (the Bank) that on 15 February 2007, it issued correspondence to firms authorised under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 (as amended) (IIA) advising them of their requirement to register under the European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations 2005 (IMR). This registration process involved the completion and submission of an appropriate registration form; Form A for those firms authorised under Section 10 of the IIA, or Form B for those firms previously deemed to be an authorised firm under the IIA.
Two subsequent letters were issued by the Bank to firms who did not return Forms A or B; on 11 February 2008 and again on 4 March 2010. The March 2010 letter provided the final opportunity for IIA authorised entities, providing insurance mediation, to avail of this registration process. Therefore, Forms A and B ceased to be valid registration forms when firms did not reply to the Bank’s correspondence of March 2010.
Since then, all firms wishing to be registered under the IMR have been required to follow the application process which is outlined on the Central Bank’s website.
I have also been advised by the Bank that there were approximately 2,500 IIA firms authorised to undertake insurance mediation before the commencement of the IMR. There are currently 2,615 firms registered as Insurance & Reinsurance Intermediaries under the IMR. The Bank has informed me that it does not have figures available on how many of these firms were registered by completing Form A or Form B and how many were registered under the current registration process.
The register of insurance and reinsurance intermediaries maintained under the IMR includes the names of firms and the dates that they were registered with the Central Bank and it is available at this link http://registers.centralbank.ie/DownloadsPage.aspx.
107. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Finance the number of regulated financial services providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7924/18]
View answerThe Central Bank of Ireland regulates more than 10,000 firms providing financial services in Ireland and overseas (according to its most recent Annual Performance Report 2016-2017 published in April 2017, the Central Bank regulates 10,042 firms).
The types of firms regulated include Brokers/Retail Intermediaries, Bureaux de Change, Credit Institutions, Credit Servicing Firms, Credit Unions, Debt Management Firms, Electronic Money Institutions, Funds, Funds Service Providers, Insurance & Reinsurance, Investment Firms, Moneylenders, Money Transmission Businesses, Payment Institutions, Retail Credit & Home Reversion Firms, and Securities Markets.
The Central Bank’s objective is to ensure financial stability, consumer protection and market integrity. To do this, it has a range of regulatory powers in the areas of authorisation, supervision and enforcement. Regulation is undertaken through risk-based supervision, underpinned by a credible threat of enforcement with the objective of ensuring financial stability, consumer protection and market integrity.
The Central Bank of Ireland's Registers contains individual registers for all financial service providers and collective investment schemes regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Please see website: http://registers.centralbank.ie/.
108. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Finance the status of outstanding compensation claims for persons (details supplied); when outstanding compensation claims will be settled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7925/18]
View answerIn relation to the former customers of Setanta Insurance, the Deputy will know that Setanta was placed into liquidation by the Malta Financial Services Authority on 30 April 2014. As it was a Maltese incorporated company, the liquidation is being carried out under Maltese law.
The Deputy will be aware that under the Insurance Act 1964, as amended, monies may be paid out of the Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF), with the approval of the High Court, in relation to an insolvent insurer, to meet claims up to a limit of 65% or €825,000 of the claim, whichever is the lesser.
The Deputy will also be aware of my decision in principle that the State will ensure that Setanta third party claimants are compensated in full, which was announced on 30 January. The Department of Finance is now working through the detailed arrangements to implement this decision, which is likely to require legislative change. In this regard, the next step is to give consideration as to whether there is any state aid or other legal issue associated with the proposed approach. The Department is currently working with the Attorney General’s Office on this issue and once the position is clarified I can give an indication of the likely timeline for payment, including the payment of the additional 35% to those who have settled their claims and have already received compensation of 65% of their claim subject to the limits outlined above.
The liquidator for Setanta Insurance has informed me that as of 31 December 2017, there are 1,577 active claims, of these 573 claimants have been paid compensation from the ICF subject to the 65%/€825,000 limits.
No date has been fixed for the next payment from the ICF, but the Liquidator has informed me that preparatory work is underway in respect of some 275 claims to the value of c €5.8m, with a view to the Accountant to the High Court making an application before the end of March.
It is important to note that only claims which have been settled can be included in applications to the High Court for payment from the ICF. The process of settling claims is still ongoing and is subject in some cases to complex negotiations between all relevant parties. It is hoped that by the State taking steps to ensure that third party claimants are compensated in full, this will encourage the settlement of all outstanding claims as quickly as possible.
109. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Finance if he will raise with the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, the development for commercial use of the land used by a club (details supplied) for its playing pitches; his views on whether NAMA is delivering on its social responsibilities to the community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7932/18]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that NAMA does not own or manage properties. NAMA acquired loans and the properties securing those loans continue to be managed by their legal owners or, in the case of enforcement, by duly appointed insolvency practitioners, who are responsible for the management of the properties and for decisions regarding future strategy for the properties. Under Section 10 of the NAMA Act 2009, NAMA is required to obtain the best achievable financial return for the State from its acquired loans and the properties that secure its loans. As Minister for Finance, I have no role in respect of NAMA's commercial operations or decisions.
In this instance, I am advised that the lands referred to by the Deputy are currently under the control of a receiver. Prior to the receiver’s appointment, I am advised that Tyrrellstown GAA Club entered into a temporary, informal agreement with the property owner. This informal agreement enabled the club to use the lands on a temporary basis, free of charge. It was expected that community playing fields developed by Fingal County Council would cater for the needs of sports clubs in the Tyrrellstown area, and I understand that this agreement with Tyrrellstown GAA Club was always accepted by the club as being no more than a temporary arrangement until such time as the owner of the land – in this case, the receiver – determined the ultimate strategy for the land concerned.
I am also advised that following the appointment of a receiver over the lands, the receiver sought to regularise the existing informal arrangement by way of a formal licence agreement. A draft licence agreement was forwarded to the club in October 2017, but as yet, the club has not responded to repeated contacts from the receiver to finalise this agreement.
I am advised that the lands the club currently occupy are zoned for mixed-use development, not for amenity purposes. As a result, I understand it will not be possible for the club to remain in this location on a long-term basis. I am advised that as part of the zoning process for the Tyrrellstown area, the property owner ceded land comprising 60 acres to Fingal County Council for use as amenity space and school sites, and I understand that it is the responsibility of the Council to develop playing fields within this area in line with its original arrangement with the land owner.
110. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Finance if there is an exemption from capital acquisitions tax in a scenario (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7942/18]
View answerI am informed by Revenue that for gift tax purposes, the relationship between the person who provides the gift (i.e. the disponer) and the person who receives the gift (i.e. the beneficiary) determines the maximum amount known as the “Group threshold” below which gift tax does not arise.
There are three separate Group thresholds based on the relationship of the beneficiary to the disponer. The Group A threshold (currently €310,000) applies, inter alia, where the beneficiary is a child (including adopted child, step-child and certain foster children) or minor child of a deceased child of the disponer. The Group B threshold (currently €32,500) applies where the beneficiary is a brother, sister, a nephew, a niece or lineal ancestor or lineal descendant of the disponer. The Group C threshold (currently €16,250) applies in all other cases.
Any prior gift or inheritance received by a beneficiary since 5 December 1991 from within the same Group threshold is aggregated for the purposes of determining whether any tax is payable on a benefit. Where a person receives gifts or inheritances which are in excess of their relevant tax free threshold, CAT at a rate of 33% applies on the excess over the tax free threshold.
There are no exemptions from CAT for the gifting of a site. The gift tax that would be payable in the circumstances set out by the Deputy would depend on the value of the site in question, how the benefit is distributed among the beneficiaries and whether each beneficiary had received previous gifts or inheritances within his or her relevant Group threshold. The daughter’s partner would be in the Group C threshold even if he was married to her, as he is not a relative of the disponer under Groups A or B.
There is an exemption from capital gains tax where an individual transfers a site to his or her child to enable the child to build a house on the site to be occupied by that child as his or her only or main residence. In order to qualify for the exemption, the value of the site must not exceed €500,000 and the area of the site must not exceed 0.4047 hectare (1 acre).
111. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Finance the actions he is taking to increase the rate of credit lending to small and medium enterprises, SMEs, via the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland; the level of take up from the fund by SMEs at 31 December 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7986/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the goal of Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is to facilitate and encourage the availability of appropriately priced funding to SMEs on more flexible terms than has been available in recent times on the Irish market. The strategic mission of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is to deliver effective financial supports to Irish SMEs that address failures in the Irish credit market, while driving competition and innovation and ensuring the efficient use of available EU resources. The SBCI achieves this aim through the provision of low cost liquidity and risk sharing activities supporting the provision of appropriately priced, flexible funding to SMEs.
The SBCI uses an on-lending model. This means it does not lend directly to SMEs, rather the SBCI channels funds through partners, known as on-lenders. These on-lenders are both banks and non-banks finance providers. Since March 2015, to the end of December 2017, the SBCI has supported loans totalling €925 million to 22,928 Irish SMEs employing 119,533 people and operating in all sectors of the Irish economy, including agriculture, food, retail, healthcare, transport and manufacturing.
The SBCI expects to announce further on-lenders in 2018. In this regard, the SBCI is actively engaging with potential future on-lenders, in particular non-bank finance providers. This will allow the SBCI to broaden its distribution capability and market coverage. Entering in to agreements with on-lending partners is subject to a robust due diligence process by the SBCI to ensure any risks to SMEs, European funding partners and Irish taxpayers are sufficiently mitigated.
The SBCI is working to develop more innovative products, such as the Agricultural Cashflow Support Loan Scheme and the Brexit Loan Scheme I announced in Budget 2017 and Budget 2018 respectively. Additionally, the SBCI is also continuing to work on a number of other initiatives, including the continued use of guarantees and risk sharing schemes to support lending by finance providers. These aim to address recognised market failures.
The Deputy can rest assured that the SBCI is working to develop a more diverse range of on-lenders and innovative products in 2018 to meet the evolving requirements of the SME finance market and contribute to a growing and sustainable economy.
