Written Answers Nos. 70-76
70. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to the publication of the 2012 unaudited accounts for the National Asset Management Agency, if he will confirm the percentage of non-performing loans by reference to nominal values and the original loan terms. [21643/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would direct the Deputy to page 10 of the NAMA Section 55 Report for the fourth quarter of 2012 which states that, as at 31 December 2012, 82% of the loans acquired by NAMA were classified as non-performing. This classification was primarily by reference to the original legacy loan agreements that pre-dated NAMA loan acquisition. I would also direct the Deputy to page 9 of the NAMA Section 55 Report which shows that, when one also factors in income captured by NAMA in respect of partially and non-performing loans (including enforced loans), the weighted-average performance is measured at 33% for the same period.
71. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a calendar of the future dates in 2013 when his Department’s monthly Exchequer statements will be published [21644/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the deputy is set out in the table below. End month Exchequer statements are published on the second working day of the following month. The most recent Exchequer statement for end April 2013 was published on Thursday 2nd of May.
|
Exchequer Returns end month |
Publication date |
|
May 2013 |
Wednesday 5th June |
|
June 2013 |
Tuesday 2nd July |
|
July 2013 |
Friday 2nd August |
|
August 2013 |
Tuesday 3rd September |
|
September 2013 |
Wednesday 2nd October |
|
October 2013 |
Monday 4th November |
|
November 2013 |
Tuesday 3rd December |
72. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to the publication of the 2012 unaudited accounts for the National Asset Management Agency, if he will provide his assessment of the performance of NAMA in 2012; and if he has concluded this assessment following consultation with the NAMA advisory board. [21645/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe unaudited accounts published by the NAMA highlight the progress that NAMA is making in delivering on its business plan. NAMA has maintained a strong cash position generating over €10 billion in cash. The agency has repaid €4.75 billion in NAMA bonds and I am advised it will meet its target to redeem €7.5 billion to end 2013. In addition, NAMA is playing a key role in supporting employment in the property and construction industry and is continuing to work with a wide range of public bodies including Government Departments, Local Authorities and State Agencies.
The publication of the 2012 unaudited accounts was not raised in my last discussions with the NAMA advisory group.
73. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a copy of the collateral posting agreement between the National Treasury Management Agency and the National Asset Management Agency which required NAMA to place €1.15bn as collateral with the NTMA at December 2012 in respect of derivative exposure. [21646/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised that NTMA provides transactional Treasury services to NAMA, including derivative transactions. I am advised by NAMA that the collateral posting agreement between the NTMA and the NAMA, which relates to derivatives, contains commercially sensitive information and is therefore not suitable for publication.
74. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Finance the number of letters returned by An Post to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of the local property tax and the follow up mechanism by the Revenue in respect of these; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21728/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs I stated in reply to question number 21572/13 yesterday (7 May 2013) I am advised by Revenue that approximately 26,000 Local Property Tax (LPT) forms had been returned ‘undelivered’ by An Post, as at 2 May 2013. This represents about 1.6% of the total issue, and is lower than Revenue would have expected at the outset. A sizeable proportion of these seem to have occurred because the persons in question did not notify Revenue of a change of address, which resulted in an incorrect match between the person and his/her previous property. To date about 9,000 of the returned forms have been reissued to the relevant customers at alternative addresses, and the process of reissue is ongoing. While it is regretted that any correspondence was issued to incorrect addresses or returned ‘undelivered’ by An Post, it was inevitable that there would be some given the scale of the operation involved. I am very satisfied that as part of Revenue’s communications on the general issue of LPT Returns, the Commissioners sought to forewarn taxpayers and they have provided clear guidance on the steps that should be taken in these cases.
The LPT is a self-assessed tax and individuals who are not in receipt of a return are still obliged to file returns and make payments using the on-line option. The online service is such that a Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) can be used to file and pay and therefore it is not actually necessary to receive a paper return in order to adhere to LPT obligations.
75. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will arrange for a document to be issued to a person (details supplied) in County Cork for each of the tax years 2010, 2011 and 2012 [21733/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a P21 balancing statement for 2011 issued to this taxpayer on 18 April 2012. The information requested by the Deputy for 2010 and 2012 will be issued to the taxpayer shortly.
76. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Finance if he intends to address the issues which have been raised relative to retirement funds such as ARFs and AMRFs and the fact that persons have lost considerable money which was set aside as their pension funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21755/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI understand that the Deputy is referring to losses potentially incurred by certain ARF/AMRF pension funds as a result of the liquidation of IBRC. I am advised that there are a small number of pension funds that were placed on deposit with IBRC that may not be entitled to compensation under the deposit guarantee scheme, DGS, or the eligible liabilities guarantee scheme, ELG, due to the nature of the products or deposit options in which those account holders invested. It is important to note that at the time the products were offered to customers there was no additional guarantee provided by the State in respect of those products.
It was always the case that the ELG scheme covered only those liabilities which were entered into during the issuance window. In relation to the DGS Scheme, I am advised that the DGS Regulations explicitly specify which deposits are excluded from coverage under that Scheme. Deposits held by pension funds and retirement funds fall within the category of excluded deposits, though small self-administered pension schemes are included. The decision to include SSAPs and exclude ARFs, AMRFs and other pension funds/instruments was based on the fact that SSAPs are usually small schemes administered by the member(s) of the scheme whilst ARFs are managed by a qualified fund manager through a credit or investment institution.
Through the liquidation process, the proceeds from the disposal of IBRC’s assets will be used to repay creditors in accordance with normal Companies Acts priorities and consequently, preferred creditors will be paid first and then debt purchased by NAMA from the Central Bank will be paid. If there are proceeds available after repayment in full of the NAMA debt, these proceeds will be applied to remaining unsecured creditors. This would include depositors to the extent that their deposits are unguaranteed.
There are standard rules which apply to the distribution of the assets of companies in liquidation and it would not be appropriate for me to interfere with these rules. Such interference could have the impact of diverting the assets of IBRC from one category of creditor to another outside the normal Companies Acts priorities and would be open to challenges in the Irish Courts by unsecured creditors.
