Written Answers Nos. 96-107
96. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer of reducing the rate of value added tax from 23% by 1.5%; and his plans to reduce the higher rate of VAT in Budget 2014. [31298/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the full year cost of reducing the standard rate of VAT from 23% by 1.5% to 21.5% is estimated at €380 million. Any changes to the VAT rates in 2014 will be considered in the context of the forthcoming Budget.
97. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Finance if he will expedite a VAT refund payment on a specially adapted car in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31323/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that Section 92 of the Finance Act 1989 and the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations, 1994 (S.I.353 of 1994) provide for permanent relief from the payment of specified maximum amounts of VAT and VRT for persons registered under the scheme. The person (details supplied) submitted an invoice in respect of the purchase of an adapted imported vehicle on 26th April 2013 Vehicle Registration Tax was remitted in the amount of €718 on 16th January 2012 when the vehicle was registered. It has been established that this vehicle was sold by the garage under the ‘Margin Scheme’. This means that no VAT was paid when the vehicle was purchased and accordingly no VAT is refundable. The person (details supplied) has been advised accordingly.
98. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance if he is honouring the commitment that the pension levy would not be extended beyond 2014. [31324/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra99. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance the reason lower-paid workers were not excluded from the pension levy, in line with the method used for the PRD in the public service. [31326/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 99 together.
In my Budget 2013 speech, I made a point of confirming that the pension fund levy introduced as part of the Jobs Initiative will not be renewed after 2014.
The pension fund levy introduced in 2011 and the public service Pension-Related Deduction (PRD) introduced in 2009 are two entirely different charges which apply in different ways.
The PRD is an income-graduated imposition on the pay of pensionable public servants. It is imposed in such a way that increasing rates of deduction are applied to increasing bands or slices of an affected public servant’s pay each year. The PRD originally became operative on 1 March 2009 as provided for in section 2 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009. Soon afterwards, the PRD rates and bands were changed by section 13 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2009, which, in particular, put in place a zero per cent rate of PRD, effectively an exemption, on the first €15,000 of pay in each year. A further change in PRD will take place on 1 January 2014, when the PRD rate on the €15,000 to €20,000 band will fall from 5% to 2.5%, as provided for in section 11 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013.
Members of pension schemes affected by the 2011 pension fund levy, on the other hand, are not charged with paying the 0.6% stamp duty levy on pension fund assets. The levy is a charge on the trustees of pension schemes and on the insurers and administrators who manage the assets of pension schemes and it is they who are liable to pay the levy. It is up to those trustees and administrators to decide in each case whether and how the levy should be passed on and who should be impacted and to what extent, given the particular circumstances of the pension funds or pension plans for which they are responsible. I have no general information on the decisions taken by trustees and administrators in this regard.
100. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of mortgage holders that are on tracker mortgages and the number by institution in both absolute and as a percentage of their total mortgages. [31346/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraFirstly, I must confirm to the Deputy that lending institutions in Ireland, including those in which the State has a significant shareholding, are independent commercial entities. It is not appropriate for me, as Minister for Finance, to comment on or become involved in the detailed mortgage position of mortgage holders. I have been advised by the Central Bank that there are no statistics available regarding the number of tracker mortgage customers or a breakdown by institution. However, the total outstanding balance of tracker mortgages on the balance sheet of Irish resident credit institutions is €42,168 million. There is a further €25,212 million in securitised tracker mortgages.
I would refer the Deputy to the Central Bank's website which contains detailed information and statistics on residential mortgage arrears and other relevant information.
101. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if Revenue will confirm that a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will qualify for retirement relief in respect of their share of the land which they and their spouse wish to transfer to their son; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31349/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, in broad terms, retirement relief is a relief given to an individual on the disposal of all or part of the qualifying assets of his business. Section 599 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides that where an individual who is at least 55 years of age makes a disposal to his or her child of all or part of the individual’s qualifying business assets, the capital gains tax chargeable on any gains arising on the disposal is fully relieved. In the case of a person and their spouse (details supplied) who wish to transfer their share of land to their son, Revenue are not in a position to confirm whether they will qualify for retirement relief on the transfer as the details provided are insufficient to enable them to determine if all of the relevant conditions for the relief have been met.
In order to establish if they would qualify for retirement relief the person should contact their local Revenue District Office with details of their PPSN and the full facts and information concerning the land being transferred.
102. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 86 of 20 June 2013, and his contention that he is unable to amend VAT rules to deal with the loss of VAT associated with the below-cost selling of alcohol, the discussions, if any, he has had with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, to seek to maximise VAT revenues from this source by the reintroduction of the groceries order in respect of alcohol products. [31367/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to the reintroduction of the groceries order on alcohol, I am informed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation that prices in Ireland are generally not subject to control. Pricing strategies are therefore a matter for individual retailers and licensees and are the normal outcome of the competitive process. In this respect, I understand that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has no plans to reintroduce a groceries order in respect of alcohol or any other product.
103. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of properties valued for the local property tax at greater than €1 million, the total amount that will be raised from properties valued at in excess of €1 million, based on current level of registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31416/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra104. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will set out, in tabular form, the total number of deferrals from the local property tax in each valuation band; the total tax foregone in 2013 in respect of deferrals and exemptions based on current level of registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31417/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 104 together.
As I indicated to the House this week in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 191 of 25 June (30191/13) the Revenue Commissioners have confirmed that LPT Returns are still being filed and payments are still being made, and these are currently being processed. It will not be possible to deal with requests for information on returns and payments, including the numbers who have sought payment deferral and exemption from the charge, until work in relation to the LPT Register, which includes the processing of LPT Returns and correspondence from property owners, is completed. They have confirmed that this work is likely to continue for some time. I am further advised by the Commissioners that detailed analysis of the Returns filed and payments is currently underway and they will make the relevant data publicly available as soon as possible.
I am also informed that during her appearance before the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure & Reform on 29 May 2013, the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners advised that, based on LPT Returns filed at that time, there were 3,599 residential properties valued by their owners at over €1m.
105. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will not cut resource hours services to children with special needs in September. [31182/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that the level of resources devoted to supporting children with Special Educational Needs has been maintained at €1.3 billion this year. This includes provision for 10,575 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and nearly 10,000 Learning Support and Resource Teachers. These resources have been protected despite the ongoing severe financial position. Whereas the allocations of SNA support for individual schools may change each year in line with a school's enrolment of children with care needs, there has been no reduction to the overall number of SNA posts being provided for schools for the coming school year. This provision remains at 10,575 posts, which will ensure that all children who qualify for access to SNA support for the coming school year will receive access to such support.
The total number of SNA posts allocated to schools for the 2012/13 school year was 10,487 posts. For the 2011/12 school year it was 10,320 posts. It is therefore estimated that there will be sufficient SNA posts to provide access to SNA support for all children who require such support in the coming school year. In relation to the allocation of resource teaching support for schools from September 2013, demand for support has risen again this year, due to a combination of demographic growth and increased assessments.
Despite the fact that the overall number of posts available to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) for allocation to schools had been maintained at existing levels, the allocations announced by the NCSE last week were reduced to take into account of the growth in demand, within the maintained number of posts, in order to ensure that equivalent allocations could be made for all qualifying children. The Deputy will be aware that I announced recently that I have now authorised the NCSE to retain the level of resource teaching allocations which can be provided for students with special educational needs to the 2012/13 levels. This will mean that there will not now be any reduction to resource teaching time for children over the level which applied last year.
I also committed to ensuring that the resources which will be required to ensure that the allocations can be made to schools at existing levels will be provided, including resources required to meet any late demand expected to arise between now and the start of the school year. The NCSE will publish revised details of the Resource Teaching allocations for all schools, based on existing allocation levels, and will also advise schools of their revised allocations in the coming days.
In the longer term, it is proposed to develop new allocations system to improve how resources for children with special Educational needs are allocated to schools. I am concerned that the scale of increased demand for resource teachers this year, if it were to continue, would make the current system unsustainable. I am asking the NCSE to consider the reasons for the unprecedented 12 per cent rise in applications for resource teacher support this year, which compares with an annual 1.3 per cent increase in the number of students attending school in the current year.
The Deputy will be aware that the NCSE recently published comprehensive policy advice on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools. I have, as suggested by the Report, requested the NCSE to establish a Working Group to develop a proposal, for consideration, for a new allocation model for teaching supports for children with Special Educational Needs based on the profiled educational needs of children in schools.
In the interim, I wish to ensure that children will not be disadvantaged while we move towards a new model which will ensure greater fairness and quality of education for children with special educational needs. That is why I have made the decision to maintain the existing allocation levels this year.
106. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on plans for a second level school (details supplied) in Dublin 24, detailing the schedule being followed; if he will confirm his plans for the management of the school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31195/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school building project referred to by the Deputy was included in the 5 year building programme announced in March 2012 and is listed to progress to construction in 2015/16. The Design Team appointment has been completed and the project is now at an early stage of architectural planning.
The application process for patronage is currently underway. The closing date for receipt of applications is 12 July 2013. The successful patron will be announced later this year.
107. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide clarity on voluntary fees sought by schools from parents and students in school and registration fees and re-registration fees; if such fees in public schools are compulsory; his views on these fees and recommended levels for such fees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31187/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraApart from the recognised fee-charging second level schools, recognised schools are not permitted to charge school fees. All other recognised schools are precluded from charging school fees. Voluntary contributions by parents of pupils in such recognised schools are permissible provided it is made absolutely clear to parents that there is no question of compulsion to pay and that, in making a contribution, they are doing so of their own volition. The manner in which such voluntary contributions are sought and collected is a matter for school management; however their collection should be such as not to create a situation where either parents or pupils could reasonably infer that the contributions take on a compulsory character.
I have no plans to prohibit such voluntary contributions.
A school may seek payment to cover the cost of photocopied or other such learning materials where the amount sought by the school is consistent with the costs involved and the level of materials provided. It is also permissible for a school to seek payments in respect of extra-curricular activities provided such activities are not obligatory and individual pupils can choose whether or not to participate. No charge may be made, however, in respect of instruction in any subject of the school curriculum or for recreation or other activities where all pupils are expected to take part.
