Written Answers Nos.63-71
63. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the French Government has briefed their EU colleagues regarding the current situation in Mali; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3204/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraMali has been the subject of urgent and ongoing discussion by EU Member States since March 2012 when there was an army coup and armed groups seized control of the north of the country. Mali has also been discussed during a number of bilateral exchanges at official and political levels between Ireland and France, including following the French military intervention at the request of the Malian authorities on 11 January. The situation was discussed in detail at an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, in Brussels on 17 January. The Council was addressed by the French Foreign Minister, as well as by the Malian Foreign Minister. The Council had a comprehensive discussion on the crisis and made important decisions on the EU’s collective response in the period ahead.
This latest phase in the crisis began during the week of 11 January when militants based in the north pushed southwards towards Mali’s capital, Bamako. The previous day, the UN Security Council stated that the deterioration in the situation threatened the stability and integrity of Mali "and constitutes a direct threat to international peace and security". The Malian army, with support from France, launched operations to repel the advance.
Following a meeting of the UN Security Council on 14 January, the Secretary General welcomed the response by bilateral partners to the call for assistance by the Government of Mali. The situation in Mali is very complex and volatile. I welcome the decision taken to accelerate the deployment of African regional forces to assist the Malian authorities. This effort is being led by the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS. The European Union will support the African-led mission. Furthermore, an EU training mission is being established to help strengthen the capacities of the Malian army.
Military action alone will not secure lasting peace and stability. EU Foreign Ministers have consistently pressed the Malian parties to adopt and implement a roadmap for a transition to democratic elections. When this is in place, the EU will be in a position to resume bilateral development cooperation and economic engagement with Mali. It is also essential to have an inclusive process of reconciliation and peace building in Mali that respects the territorial integrity of the country and addresses ethnic divisions.
We are seriously concerned about the impact of this crisis on the civilian population. Over the past year, Ireland has provided over €9 million in emergency assistance for the Sahel region, including €1.35 million for Mali and Malian refugees in neighbouring countries. We will provide further support in 2013.
64. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when a response will issue to a query ( details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3253/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe application in question was approved by my Department 17th January and the relevant certificate was forwarded to our Consulate in San Francisco on 18th January for issue to the applicant.
65. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding Disaster Tech Lab; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3475/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has been in communication with the individual referred to in the correspondence supplied by the Deputy on a number of occasions since August 2012. I initially wrote to the correspondent in August last year, the first of a series of replies. In this letter, I acknowledged his particular interest in the important work of strengthening access to ICT infrastructure in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters. The individual specifically sought support from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for a contribution to attend a disaster response learning exercise in California. This correspondence was passed to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and while noting our interest in this area of work, I also explained to the correspondent that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is unfortunately not in a position at the present time to allocate financial support to the initiative.
In the same correspondence, I outlined some of the Department’s existing engagement with this area of work. In particular, I underlined that Irish Aid’s Rapid Response Initiative already works closely with the United Nations agencies through the Standby-Partnership Programme (SBPP) and Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) to support the UN in providing information management and communications systems in disaster settlings. I also explained that ICT specialists have been deployed to a number of humanitarian crises, including those in Haiti, the Philippines, Sudan, Cameroon, Kenya and Mali since the establishment of the Rapid Response Initiative in 2007.
In response to additional correspondence received late last year and referred to by the Deputy, I requested my officials to meet with the individual concerned to discuss his proposed activities in more detail as well as to explore ways in which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade could facilitate contact with key humanitarian partners. I expect this meeting to take place at a time convenient for the correspondent.
In the latest correspondence received, the individual is seeking financial support to attend a round table discussion on innovation organised by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency in the White House in February 6th 2013. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is unfortunately not in a position at the present time to allocate financial support to requests for travel expenses and capacity building support.
66. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of persons that availed of the disabled drivers/passengers scheme on new vehicles in each of the years 2010, 2011 and 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3370/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that Section 134(3) of the Finance Act 1992 (as amended) and Statutory Instrument No: 353 of 1994 (Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations, 1994 (as amended) provide for permanent relief from the payment of specified maximum amounts of VAT and VRT for persons registered under the scheme. The number of persons that availed of the disabled drivers/passengers scheme on new vehicles in each of the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 is as follows:
|
Year |
Number of Persons |
|
2010 |
3,951 |
|
2011 |
3,530 |
|
2012 |
3,767 |
67. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown by county of the amount of land repossessed by financial institutions since 2009 and the law in relation to mineral rights on lands repossessed by financial institutions. [3469/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Central Bank of Ireland has advised me that it does not collate statistics on the amount of land repossessed by financial institutions. The Central Bank publishes mortgage arrears and repossession statistics in respect of houses only. The latest figures for end Quarter 3 2012 are available on the Central Bank’s website. Policy and information in relation to mineral rights on lands repossessed is a matter for the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
68. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Finance if the local property tax will be paid by the National Assets Management Agency and by the banks where residential properties are in their ownership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3154/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have been informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the owner of a residential property is generally the liable person for the purposes of the charge to Local Property Tax. This is on the basis that he or she has the right to immediate possession of the property or is entitled to receive the rent if the property is rented rather than occupied by the owner. It is also on condition that no other significant long-term interest in the property has been created, such as a leasehold interest for at least 20 years, or a life tenancy. In such circumstances it is the lessee or the life tenant who is the liable person and not the owner. In most cases the role of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) is that of a secured lender; it is not the owner or operator of properties. Properties remain under the control of NAMA’s debtors and appointed receivers/administrators. Where these properties are subject to the Local Property Tax it will be the responsibility of the debtor or receiver to ensure compliance. However, there are occasions where NAMA takes residential properties directly onto its balance sheet.
Thus, where NAMA or a bank has such possession or right to receive rents in relation to a residential property they will be the liable person. Neither NAMA has nor the banks have any specific exemption from the Local Property Tax.
69. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Finance if he will give or has given any provision for an exemption for persons with disabilities in respect of the property tax; if he will make an exemption for parents of disabled children, who have altered their homes to provide for the care of their disabled child in view of the fact that they have faced financial loss as a result; if he will agree that in the event of such parents willing their property to their disabled child, that that child, being in receipt of disability allowance, will be unable to pay the property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3155/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 7 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides an exemption for residential properties that are used to accommodate people with special housing needs where the properties in question are owned by a tax-exempt charity or a public body. “Special accommodation needs” refers to the provision of housing and support for people who have a particular need in addition to a housing need to enable them to live in the community and includes the elderly and people with disabilities. Properties which have been adapted by parents to provide for the care of their disabled child are not exempt from the charge to Local Property Tax (LPT). The Deputy will be aware that the State provides supports in other targeted ways, including the Housing Adaptation Grant, where changes need to be made to a home to make it suitable for a person with a physical, sensory or intellectual disability or mental health difficulty to live in. The impact of such adaptations on a property, as the Deputy suggests, can be to decrease the value which may in turn affect the LPT liability.
In cases where there is an inability to pay the LPT, Part 12 of the Act outlines cases where the tax can be deferred. Where the residential property is the sole or main residence of a liable person and their estimated gross income from all sources does not exceed €15,000 for a single person or €25,000 for a couple during the year covered by the return, they will be eligible to apply for full deferral of the LPT charge. Moreover, owner-occupiers may be eligible to apply for partial deferral where the gross income from all sources is less than €25,000 in the case of a single person and €35,000 in the case of a couple. In these cases the owner-occupier will qualify for deferrals of 50% of the LPT liability and the balance of 50% of the tax must be paid. Where the property was purchased with a mortgage, these thresholds are increased by 80% of the mortgage interest payment.
70. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Finance if he will allow those in financial difficulty who have contributed to a personal pension to be allowed to draw down from those pensions before they reach maturity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3174/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn my Budget 2013 speech, I announced that I would make provision in Finance Bill 2013 for persons making Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) used to supplement their main scheme retirement benefits to withdraw up to 30% of the value of those contributions. Any amounts withdrawn will be subject to tax at the individual’s marginal rate. The option will be available for 3 years from the passing of the Finance Bill. This is a restricted measure which will enable rather than incentivize certain individuals to access part of their pension savings beyond their regular or compulsory pension contributions. I do not wish to damage future pension provision and it is important that individuals continue to provide for their retirement. For these reasons, I have no plans to extend the measure beyond AVCs.
71. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide the Exchequer cash balance at the end of December 2012; the source of these funds, specifically the quantum raised by the National Treasury Management Agency and the amount drawn from the Troika assuming that all tax revenues service spending, and that the cash balance is provided from borrowings, and if he is concerned at the very high costs incurred by the State in holding such large cash balances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3188/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra73. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if he has considered delaying the draw down of funds from the IMF and EU funds and bilateral loans, which are being held as cash balances, until the moneys are actually required to reduce the costs of maintaining such a large Exchequer cash balance, recognising the need to raise market funds through the National Treasury Management Agency when conditions are optimal but reducing the overall cost to the State of these activities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3190/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra75. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance his views on recent media reports that the estimated cost of maintaining an Exchequer cash balance in excess of €20 billion results in a cost of approximately €35 million per billion euro on deposit, and that the State could find better uses for the annual sum that would be in excess of €700 million that is wasted due to this policy; if he will consider mechanisms to reduce this cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3217/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 71, 73 and 75 together.
At end 2012, the Exchequer had €19.3bn on hand in cash and deposits. As the proceeds of all borrowing, including borrowing under the EU-IMF Programme, as well as revenues including tax and non-tax, are lodged to the Exchequer account to fund general expenditure, it is not possible to disaggregate the balance on that account by source or derive a single robust cost figure in relation to the balances maintained.
Funds in the Exchequer are used for the ongoing payments necessary for running the State. Budget 2013 estimated that the cumulative Exchequer deficit over the years 2013-2015 would be close to €35 billion. In addition to these day-to-day costs, there are large debt redemptions that are scheduled from early 2013, including a €5.1 billion bond repayment in April 2013 and a €7.6 billion bond repayment in January 2014. The continuing budget deficits and debt redemptions must be adequately and prudently funded.
Decisions on the level of cash reserves, which are a matter for the NTMA, take account of various factors in addition to the cost of maintaining such reserves. These factors include considering the potential cost of not maintaining an adequate and prudent cash balance. This includes the risk that the Exchequer would be unable to meet its obligations and that market interest rates would possibly be higher than would otherwise be the case due to the perception that the State had a precarious liquidity position.
Exchequer cash reserves are an important component in bolstering investor confidence in Ireland as it continues on the path to full independent market access at sustainable interest rates. The EU/IMF Programme ends this year making such market access of critical importance. With regard to the drawdown of remaining funding from the EU/IMF Programme, I will continue be regularly advised by the NTMA, who manage the country’s debt, as well as my officials on Irelands debt strategy. However, it is fair to highlight that given the projected cost and duration of funding available under the Programme of external assistance, we would expect to fully draw down the remaining scheduled funds, in line with that provided for in Budget 2013 .
