Parliamentary questions

Irish Language Issues

Brendan Smith

51. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with Members of the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to the Irish Language Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57552/12]

EU Presidency Expenditure

Brendan Smith

52. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his priorities for the EU presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57598/12]

Humanitarian Aid

Bernard Durkan

53. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the degree to which the international community has been in a position to support aid and relief agencies in Syria, with particular reference to Médecins sans Frontières; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57651/12]

Property Taxation Exemptions

Terence Flanagan

54. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if persons acting in the capacity of executors of wills will be included in the list of persons allowed to defer payment of the property tax, save where the executor of the will, or the spouse or partner are the sole or joint beneficiary of the property concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57511/12]

Property Taxation Application

Pearse Doherty

55. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide the underlying calculations in support of the estimated yield from the proposed property tax of €250 million in 2013, such workings to set out the assumed range of property values and associated volume of properties, non-compliance rates, deferral volume and value. [57387/12]

Property Taxation Collection

Pearse Doherty

56. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide an estimate of the cost of administering and collecting the proposed new property tax and household charge arrears in 2013; if he will provide an estimate of administering and collecting the household charge in 2012; and if he will indicate in the budget 2013 documentation where account has been taken of any increased cost. [57388/12]

Household Charge Collection

Pearse Doherty

57. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will indicate in the Budget 2013 documentation where account has been taken of the discontinuance of the household charge revenue in 2013 which was estimated at €160 million in 2012 and the discontinuance of the non principal private residence revenue, estimated at €70 million in 2012. [57389/12]

Banking Sector Regulation

Pearse Doherty

58. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the controls that exist in the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation to prevent employees, their spouses, family and associates from benefitting from confidential information obtained from the bank, in the purchase of property from persons and companies which have or have had loans with IBRC. [57395/12]

Banking Sector Regulation

Pearse Doherty

59. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation employees that have, either by themselves or with others, purchased property in each of 2011 and 2012 from persons or companies, which have or have had loans with IBRC. [57396/12]

Bank Debt Restructuring

Pearse Doherty

60. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the protocols and practices taken by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation to ensure that assets disposed of by IBRC itself, or its borrowers under the auspices of IBRC, are disposed of in a manner which maximises the return to the taxpayer from the disposal. [57397/12]

Property Taxation Exemptions

Ciaran Lynch

61. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Finance with regard to the property tax, the reason that no exemptionor concession was given to persons who paid large amounts of stamp duty in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57398/12]

Pension Provisions

Ged Nash

62. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Finance if he will bring forward his decision announced in his recent budget speech in respect of the maximum allowable pension fund, to a point in 2013 as opposed to 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57414/12]

Financial Services Regulation

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

63. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a detailed account of the way private monetary transactions between accounts that is bank transfers, in the State are monitored by the Revenue Commissioners; if there is a cut off amount on which such transactions would require inspection by the Revenue Commissioners to guarantee that they were tax compliant; if there is, the figure of said amount; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57415/12]

State Bodies Expenditure

Ciaran Lynch

64. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Finance the number of cases from 2008 to date in which the State Claims Agency was successful, but costs were awarded to the plaintiff; if he will indicate the total of such costs paid each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57422/12]

Revenue Commissioners Investigations

Thomas P. Broughan

65. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance if he will allocate additional resources to the Revenue Commissioners in 2013 to tackle the black economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57437/12]

Fuel Rebate Scheme

Brendan Griffin

66. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if the auto-diesel excise duty rebate relief will be extended to private coach operators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57461/12]

Pension Provisions

Brendan Griffin

67. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if legislative proposals furnished to him by this Deputy in relation to imposing a super-levy on bailed out bankers, former politicians and civil servants will be implemented; if not, if he will provide specific detailed reasons; if he has specific proposals of his own to tackle the unjust pensions currently being paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57477/12]

Universal Social Charge Payments

Michael Creed

68. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Finance if he will quantify the amount of money that could be raised by persons paying Class S PRSI, if they were liable to the 3% universal social charge on income in excess of €100,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57516/12]

Property Valuations

Brendan Griffin

69. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a county breakdown of properties nationwide valued at less than €100,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57524/12]

Budget Submissions

Brendan Griffin

70. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the reason the VFI proposals to introduce a €250 million lid levy was not adopted in budget 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57545/12]

Tax Code

Brendan Griffin

71. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the reason the €120 million proposal to place a 1c levy on SMS and MMS was not adopted in Budget 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57546/12]

Tax Code

Brendan Griffin

72. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the reason a windfall winnings tax, such as the taxes in place in many other countries and recently adopted by Spain, was not adopted in budget 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57547/12]

Property Taxation Application

Brendan Griffin

73. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the way property tax rates proposed in this jurisdiction compare with rates in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57548/12]

Property Valuations

Brendan Griffin

74. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the estimated number of properties nationwide valued at less than €100,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57549/12]

Alcohol Pricing

Patrick O'Donovan

75. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Finance in view of the deliberations in budget 2013, if he will quantify the amount of potential lost revenue to the State by the selling of alcohol in supermarket outlets at prices below the cost at which the supermarkets bought the product; if he will quantify the amount paid by the State as a VAT rebate in 2011 in respect of alcohol pricing by supermarkets and other multiples; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57553/12]

Household Charge Collection

Michael McGrath

76. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 62 of 12 December 2012, if he will point out specifically where in the budget documentation the cessation of the household charge in 2013 is taken account of; and his views on whether fairer and more consistent presentation of the budget numbers would have involved netting off the cessation of the household charge, which was shown as tax revenue in the Budget 2012 documentation, against the projected yield from the new local property tax. [57575/12]

Mortgage Debt

Michael McGrath

77. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of regulated financial institutions that have sold all or part of their mortgage loan books in the past three years; the protection that mortgage holders are entitled to when such sales occur to institutions that are not covered by the mortgage arrears resolution process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57591/12]

Mortgage Interest Relief Application

Michael McGrath

78. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of mortgage customers whose mortgage interest relief has been stopped in 2012 due to arrears or non payment in respect of their mortgage; the guidelines he has issued regarding same; if a person may have their mortgage interest relief re-instated once their repayments are once again on schedule; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57592/12]

Credit Unions Regulation

Michael McGrath

79. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if lending restrictions have been applied to a credit union (details supplied) by the Central Bank of Ireland [57593/12]

Promissory Note Negotiations

Michael McGrath

80. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if an indicative timetable has been agreed with the European Central Bank in respect of ELA lending made by the Central Bank of Ireland to Irish Bank Resolution Corporation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57594/12]

Universal Social Charge Payments

Sean Fleming

81. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline the situation whereby public servants receive arrears as salary paid to them in 2012 which relate to 2010 and 2011; the level at which the universal social charge is payable in respect of these arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57596/12]

Fuel Rebate Scheme

Willie Penrose

82. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Finance if, in respect of budget 2013 whereby an excise rebate was announced on diesel for haulage companies to come into effect on 1 July 2013, he will indicate that same applies to passenger transport companies and particularly those involved in the coach and bus operation businesses; if in this context that the rebate definition would have to include the carriage of passengers by a motor vehicle of category M2 of category M3 as defined in Council Directive 70/156/EEC; if he will consider ensuring that the said rebate is extended to bus and coach companies in the forthcoming Finance Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57605/12]

Tax Collection Forecasts

Joanna Tuffy

83. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No.4 of 6 December 2012 in which he estimated a total revenue of €395 million from the taxation of child benefit, the rate and amount of tax a month that would be deducted from child benefit in the examples (detailed supplied) this information to be furnished in tabular form. [57609/12]

Tax Code

Joanna Tuffy

84. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer of allowing unmarried couples for joint assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57610/12]

Mortgage Arrears Rate

Michael McGrath

85. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his views on the level of arrears across the buy-to-let mortgage book; the Government's strategy for dealing with the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57611/12]

Promissory Note Negotiations

Michael McGrath

86. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if, in the absence of an agreement with the European Central Bank to restructure the liability, it is his intention to pay the €3.1 billion due to the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation on 31 March 2013 in respect of the promissory note [57613/12]

Banking Sector Redundancies

Michael McGrath

87. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide details of the number of AIB employees who have applied to avail of the voluntary redundancy scheme; the estimated total cost of the voluntary redundancy scheme; if he will confirm the existing number of employees at the bank and the optimum number being targeted on the conclusion of the redundancy programme. [57614/12]

Banking Sector Remuneration

Michael McGrath

88. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance when he expects to have the Mercer report on remuneration levels within the covered institutions to hand; when he expects to make decisions in respect of same and when he plans to publish the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57615/12]

Fiscal Policy

Michael McGrath

89. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the anticipated adjustment in budget 2014; if he will confirm the split between taxation and expenditure measures; and if he will confirm the amount of the adjustment that is already accounted for by way of carry forward of measures announced in budget 2013. [57616/12]

Additional Voluntary Contributions

Michael McGrath

90. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance further to his projection that allowing pre-retirement access to funded additional voluntary contributions will yield €100 million in 2013, if he will confirm the total value of draw down in 2013 upon which he is basing this yield; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57617/12]

Pension Provisions

Michael McGrath

91. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a detailed statement of the basis of the estimated yield in 2014 of €250 million from proposed changes to the maximum allowable pension fund; the persons he now intends to consult with regarding this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57618/12]

Universal Social Charge Payments

Michael McGrath

92. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the estimated number of pensioners that will be affected by the increase in the universal social charge for persons aged 70 years of age and over earning €60,000 or more. [57619/12]

Alcohol Sales

Michael McGrath

93. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the budget measures that specifically affect the off licence alcohol trade. [57621/12]

Carbon Budget

Michael McGrath

94. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the impact of the extension of carbon tax to solid fuels on the price of smokeless coal and non-smokeless coal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57622/12]

Exchequer Deficit

Michael McGrath

95. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide details of the Exchequer borrowing requirement in 2013 and 2014 taking into account cash on hand, projected Exchequer deficits and the maturity of Government bonds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57623/12]

Property Taxation Application

Michael McGrath

96. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of residential properties that he estimates will be liable for the local property tax; if this number is consistent with the number of properties that have been liable for the household charge in 2012. [57625/12]

Credit Availability

Finian McGrath

97. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the amount of new lending approved and drawn down, as opposed to renewals or bundling of existing credit facilities by each of AIB and Bank of Ireland in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57633/12]

Credit Availability

Bernard Durkan

98. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which efforts have been made to monitor the degree to which lending agencies have restricted or refused credit to the self–employed over the past 12 months; if difficulties the self-employed have experienced in meeting their tax liabilities have been directly linked to a gradual diminution or restriction of credit to the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57653/12]

Mortgage Interest Relief Expenditure

Róisín Shortall

99. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance his estimate of the amount of tax forgone through the application of mortgage interest relief to landlords; if he will provide a breakdown of this amount between commercial and residential landlords and the number of people claiming relief in both cases; the number and value of cases where relief is being claimed for a property outside the Republic of Ireland; the number and value of new claims in the past three years for which figures are available with a breakdown by residential and commercial landlords; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57696/12]

Fuel Rebate Scheme

Éamon Ó Cuív

100. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Finance in view of his statement that under EU law a fuel rebate system may not be restricted to Irish licensed hauliers but would have to be extended to all vehicles intended exclusively for the carriage of goods by road with a maximum permissible gross laden weight of no less than 7.5 tonnes, as well as the carriage of passengers by a category M2 vehicle or category M3 vehicle; if it is lawful now to confine the fuel rebate scheme announced in the budget to goods vehicles only; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57740/12]