Written Answers Nos. 161-177
162. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of public sector jobs offered as internal competitions or restricted to existing civil service or public service staff in his Department in 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31549/18]
View answerOfficers join the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through standard recruitment practices i.e., through competitions run under licence directly by this Department or by the Public Appointments Service, or through transfer/redeployment from another government Department under standard transfer/redeployment arrangements.
The Department follows centrally agreed sequencing arrangements for recruitment and promotion, between internal, interdepartmental and open panels established through competitions.
In 2017 and to date in 2018, 89 officers accepted roles in my Department having successfully competed in internal or interdepartmental competitions for promotion.
All other officers who accepted positions in the timeframe concerned were appointed from open competitions.
163. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of appeals lodged at the Irish Financial Services appeals tribunal; the number that were accepted as appealable; the number of hearings held; the number of Central Bank decisions or findings successfully appealed in each year since the tribunal was established in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30023/18]
View answer164. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the cost each year and to date in 2018 of the Irish Financial Services appeals tribunal; the cost to the Central Bank incurred through legal fees related to the tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30024/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 163 and 164 together.
It was not possible to compile the information sought in the time available and, therefore, I will make arrangements to provide the information in line with Standing Orders.
165. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance his plans to extend the help-to-buy scheme beyond its end date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30047/18]
View answerSection 477C of the Taxes consolidation Act 1997 (Help-to-Buy Incentive) includes a sunset clause for the incentive coming into effect at the end of 2019.
As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has recently commissioned an independent Cost-Benefit Analysis of the incentive. The analysis is currently underway and is due to be completed in advance of Budget 2019. The findings of the analysis will, amongst other factors, inform any decisions on the future of the incentive.
166. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance when the next quarterly update is being published by the cost of insurance working group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30052/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware from a recent response to a PQ, it had been planned that the next quarterly Progress Update would be released before the end of July. Work is ongoing but it is still envisaged that this report will be completed by the close of the month. Having said that, it may be August before it is ready for publication on the Department of Finance website.
The update, which will be the sixth such quarterly report from the Cost of Insurance Working Group, will provide details on the implementation of all of the recommendations from both the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance and the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance. However, a particular focus will be placed upon the 14 actions across the two Reports – seven from each – with Q2 2018 deadlines.
167. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Finance if an exemption to the household charge will be examined to help support family carers. [30068/18]
View answerSection 156 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 converted any arrears of Household Charge (HHC) that were still outstanding on 1 July 2013 to a Local Property Tax (LPT) liability of €200 per property, and made Revenue responsible for collecting the increased amounts. Prior to 1 July 2013, collection of the original €100 HHC was the responsibility of the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) on behalf of the Local Authorities.
With regards to the Local Property Tax, the Government decided that a liability to the LPT should apply to all owners of residential properties with a limited number of exemptions. As a matter of Government policy, and in order to keep the rate of the tax low, the Government agreed that reliefs should be targeted at owner occupiers where there is inability to pay the tax.
Accordingly, the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended, provides for the possibility of deferring the charge to LPT in certain circumstances to assist individuals who may have difficulty paying the tax. To qualify for a deferral, the residential property must be occupied as a sole or main residence. The gross income thresholds for a full deferral are €15,000 for a single person and €25,000 for a couple, whether married persons, civil partners or qualifying cohabitants. A person may claim a deferral if their gross income will not, "as can reasonably be foreseen at the liability date" exceed these thresholds in that year.
A deferral of up to 50% of the LPT liability will be possible where the gross income of the liable person does not exceed €25,000 for a single person or €35,000 for married persons/civil partners/cohabitants. The full and partial deferral thresholds may be increased in the case of properties occupied as a sole or main residence and subject to a mortgage. In such cases, the gross income thresholds may be increased by 80% of the mortgage interest payments.
Where a liable person does not qualify for, or does not wish to avail of, a deferral, phased payment of LPT can be used to assist with budgeting. The Government is aware of the difficulties facing many individuals and families, and for this reason a wide variety of methods for payment of the LPT are available from which liable persons can choose the method most suited to their individual circumstances. The LPT can be paid by way of phased payments rather than in a single payment; it can also be paid by direct debit; or through payment service providers such as An Post TaxPay, Payzone and Omnivend.
I have initiated a review of the LPT which is looking in particular at the impact on LPT liabilities of property price developments. It includes an examination of the outstanding recommendations of the 2015 Thornhill review of the Local Property Tax. It is expected that the review will be completed at the end of August and that the review report will provide a number of policy choices for consideration. The review will be informed by the desirability of achieving relative stability, both over the short and longer terms, in LPT payments of liable persons. It also included a consultation process to enable all interested parties and individuals to submit their views on the future of the LPT.
168. Deputy Colm Brophy asked the Minister for Finance if his Department has identified laws which are dependent on or in place as a consequence of Article 41.2 of the Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30100/18]
View answerAs the Deputy is probably aware of, a constitutional referendum has been proposed to amend or repeal Article 41.2 of the Constitution. In this context, the Department of Finance is engaged in an ongoing review of legislation for which it is responsible in order to identify any such laws which are dependant on Article 41.2. To date, no such laws have been identified.
169. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Finance the estimated number of NAMA staff who will transfer into Home Building Finance Ireland; the anticipated date of their transfer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30299/18]
View answerThe Home Building Finance Ireland Bill 2018 provides that the staff of HBFI will be provided by the NTMA on a secondment basis. This model has been successfully used in the past in establishing other entities such as the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI).
In order to ensure that the entity is established in the most efficient manner possible it is envisaged that the NTMA shall first draw upon any relevant resources, services and experience that are already available within NAMA when appointing staff to HBFI. NAMA has amassed considerable expertise in this area through the implementation of its existing residential funding programme and this will be a key asset for HBFI.
Ultimately, it will be a matter for the Board of HBFI to determine the precise staffing levels required which will be commensurate with the level of demand for lending from developers. As a result it is not possible to estimate the number of NAMA staff that may ultimately transfer to HBFI at this time. The transfer of any NAMA staff will depend on HBFI's requirements and the availability of appropriate resources in NAMA at that point in time.
170. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Finance the spending commitments or paying down of debt which has been entered into with regard to the profits arising from the winding down of NAMA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30301/18]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that it is expected that NAMA will substantially complete its work by 2020. The Agency announced in October 2017 that it had redeemed all of its €30.2bn in Senior Debt which was guaranteed by the State and since April 2018 it has commenced the redemption of its €1.6bn in subordinated debt. However, notwithstanding the successful achievement of repaying the State’s contingent liability, three years ahead of schedule, there is still a significant body of work yet to be completed by NAMA.
Subject to current market conditions prevailing NAMA projects a surplus in the region of €3.5bn to be returned to the State once it completes it work. The realisation of this surplus depends on the redemption of NAMA’s remaining subordinated debt by March 2020 and completion of its Dublin Docklands SDZ and residential funding programmes.
As per section 60(2) of the NAMA Act 2009, NAMA may use surplus funds to redeem and cancel its senior and subordinated debt. Surplus funds may only be returned to the Central Fund once NAMA's debt has been redeemed in full in 2020.
Any NAMA surplus paid, while Exchequer positive, will not impact the general government balance, in line with EUROSTAT rules. It will be a decision for the Government as to how any surplus returned by NAMA will be utilised within the framework of the fiscal rules. However, the intention has always been to use such receipts from the resolution of the financial sector crisis to pay down our national debt and reduce our debt servicing costs.
171. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 188 of 29 May 2018, if the loan was not given to an employee or former employee at a preferential interest rate, then for the purposes of a write-down or debt forgiveness, the Revenue Commissioners will not seek to apply section 122 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30329/18]
View answerI am informed by Revenue that to assess the implications of Section 122(3) of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) (Section 122(3) TCA)) for any employee or former employee the full portfolio of loans provided to the individual must be examined.
As stated in the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 188 of 29 May 2018, if there are a number of loans, including preferential loans, then, regardless of the order of the write off, the amount written off has to be first set against the amount of any preferential loan(s) outstanding and any tax liability arising on the preferential loan(s), so treated as written off first, has to be paid in accordance with section 122(3) TCA.
Once the tax liability in respect of any preferential loans has been accounted for any non-preferential loans advanced may be fully or partially written-off without incurring a tax liability provided the employer can show to the satisfaction of Revenue that the outcome of the write-off would be the same for the employee or ex-employee as it would be for a non-employee customer of the bank.
Where an employee takes out a "non-preferential" loan, and the employee has no other loans from the employer, the only provision of the preferential loan rules which applies is the provision relating to the release or write-off of a loan (namely, section 112(3) TCA 1997). Any release or write-off of such a non-preferential loan will give rise to a tax liability unless the employer can show to the satisfaction of Revenue that the outcome of the write-off would be the same for the employee as it would be for a non-employee customer of the bank.
Where an ex-employee takes out a loan, after leaving employment with his or her employer, and the loan is written off or released in whole or part, the release or write-off will not give rise to a tax liability provided the ex-employee has no preferential loans with the employer.
172. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the taxes withheld in respect of a person (details supplied) through the RTC or C35 system for sub-contractors in each of the tax years 2005 to 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30452/18]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that according to their records the following amounts of Relevant Contacts Tax (RCT) were deducted from relevant payments made to the person concerned for the tax years 2005 to 2009:
Tax Year 2005 - €17,501.64
Tax Year 2006 - €26,372.88
Tax Year 2007 - €3,158.90
Tax Year 2008 - €3,605.00
Tax Year 2009 - € 997.51
There is no record of RCT deductions in respect of the person concerned for the tax years 2010 to 2012 inclusive.
I am also advised that the person concerned has failed to submit income tax returns for the tax years 2006 to 2009 and 2011 to 2014 inclusive. It should be noted in that context that, in accordance with section 865 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, any claim for a repayment of tax in relation to any tax year from 2003 onwards must be made within 4 years after the end of the tax year to which the claim relates. Thus, Revenue are legally precluded from making a repayment at a time at which a claim for the repayment would not be allowed, i.e. after 4 years from the end of the year to which the repayment claim relates.
173. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Finance the cost of travel expenses for him and those who travel with him since his appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30511/18]
View answerThe cost of official domestic and overseas travel, including the cost of accompanying officials, since my appointment as Minister for Finance in June 2017 is €25,863.13. The Deputy may note that €11,744 of this cost relates to accompanying officials. The remainder pertains to me and is in respect of flights, accommodation, car hire and other expenses.
It should be noted that costs associated with one of my political advisors that I have appointed since coming to office in June 2017 is charged to the Department of Finance.
174. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Finance the number of FOI requests his Department has received since January 2018; the number of refusals; the number that have been appealed and that are ongoing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30569/18]
View answerIn response to the Deputy, as of Thursday 5 July 2018, a total of 206 FOI requests have been received by the Department of Finance, 21 of which are currently in process.
The Department has refused 38 FOI requests in 2018 to date.
The Department has received four appeals for Internal Review to date, with all cases fully concluded. There was one appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner, which was subsequently withdrawn by the requestor.
The Department of Finance publishes a Quarterly FOI Disclosure Log on a quarterly basis since January 2015 on the Department's website; this log details the requestor category, the request itself and the final decision.
175. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Finance the number of vacancies on State boards under the remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30586/18]
View answerThere are seven state boards under the remit of my Department. There are no vacancies on five of these boards. These are the Credit Union Restructuring Board, the Financial Services and Pension Ombudsman, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, the National Asset Management Agency and the National Treasury Management Agency.
I am advised that the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland has one vacancy.
There are two possible vacancies on the Central Bank Commission. Section 18CA(1)(b) of the Central Bank Act 1942, as amended, allows "at least six, but no more than eight, other members appointed by the Minister", and currently there are six ministerial appointees.
176. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance the number of requests received from the Tax Appeals Commission for permission to hire additional staff in 2016, 2017 and to date in 2018; if each request for additional staff was approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30864/18]
View answerThe Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) was established in March 2016 as part of the reform of the tax appeals system introduced under the Finance (Tax Appeals) Act 2015. The Commission was set up as an independent body with its own vote and Accounting Officer and is a body under the aegis of the Department of Finance.
Significant additional resources have been applied to the TAC since its inception with the staffing levels more than doubling over its first two years of operation. Where additional resources have been sought to date, my Department have engaged with each request received. Indeed the budget for the TAC has almost quadrupled between 2014 and 2018 despite the fact that in 2016 and 2017 the TAC did not spend its full budget allocation.
The following information relates to staffing requests received from the TAC.
In June 2016 the TAC proposed the re-engagement of two former Commissioners on a temporary basis. This was followed in July 2016 by a request to recruit two additional temporary clerical staff. The re-engagement of the former Commissioners was not considered to be in keeping with the mandate of openness and transparency, so in July 2016 sanction was instead given for the appointment of 5 temporary Appeal Commissioners, to be appointed by a competitive process, and 2 full-time clerical staff.
An amended request was received from the TAC in August 2016 for 4 clerical staff (to include the 2 clerical staff sanctioned in July), and this was sanctioned in August 2016.
In February 2017, following the return to D/Finance of an experienced Principal Officer on secondment to assist with the set-up of the TAC, the TAC requested the secondment of another experienced Principal Officer from my Department. The position was filled by the appointment of a Principal Officer on secondment from the Department of Finance in May 2017.
In August 2017 a request was made by the TAC for 2 additional tax qualified staff at Assistant Principal level to act as case managers and this request was sanctioned. In parallel to commencing the recruitment process via the Public Appointments Service (PAS) the TAC requested that my Department consider filling some of these positions by sending further staff to the TAC on secondment. This was not possible as my Department has a limited number of staff with the requisite qualifications/skills and experience and is also dealing with staffing challenges caused by an annual turnover rate of over 23% (including resignations, retirements and staff that have moved to other Departments through promotions etc.). My officials offered assistance with the process of recruitment via PAS, including the provision of interview board members if required. The assistance of my Department's HR manager to provide advice and guidance has also been offered to the TAC, but the TAC to date have not availed of this offer.
The TAC's 2018 Estimates were submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) in September 2017, noting that the required additional staffing from January 2018 would be 2 Assistant Principal case managers (the 2 case managers requested in August for which recruitment had commenced), 1 Assistant Principal, 1 Higher Executive Officer and 1 temporary Clerical Officer.
This request was sanctioned, and my Department facilitated the transfer of an experienced Higher Executive Officer on secondment to the TAC in October 2017. I understand that the 2 Assistant Principal case managers were appointed in January 2018.
In February 2018, the Accounting Officer of the Commission submitted a request to my Department for significant additional resources to meet the increased caseload of the Commission, including an additional 10 administrative staff. The addition of these resources would involve an effective doubling of the Commission’s budget for 2018 from €1.626 million to an estimated €3.226 million which includes extra resources for ICT and new office space.
Due to the substantial increase in public resources now being sought by the TAC, my officials requested further information to support the resource request to ensure that the proposed balance of administrative staff and the existing Commissioners would be effective in addressing that workload. The TAC informed my Department in early March of this year that it had commenced commissioning a review of its resources and operations. I am awaiting receipt of this report and, in the meantime, I have commissioned an independent reviewer with significant experience of civil service bodies and operations to assess the current position and advise how best to address the TAC's resource needs. This review has been expedited in order that resourcing decisions, based on a sound business case for the resolution of the current backlog, can be made as soon as possible.
177. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance his plans to have a bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Mr. Bill Morneau; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30865/18]
View answerI have no bilateral meeting currently scheduled with Minister Morneau. I last met with Minister Morneau in January 2018.
