Written Answers Nos. 190-207
190. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the action she is taking to facilitate the return to work of previously self-employed persons who remain on the live register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40376/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraServices and programmes for people who are on the Live Register and receiving welfare payments are available regardless of the registrant’s prior employee/self-employed status.
The Government’s primary strategy to reduce unemployment, including for those who were previously self-employed, is through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth. This strategy is working. Employment has risen by over 75,000 since 2012. The unemployment rate is falling and is currently at 11.1%, the lowest rate in 5 years – and is down from a peak of just over 15% in 2011.
However, Government also recognises the need for additional activation measures to ensure that as many as possible of the jobs created as the economy recovers are taken up by those on the Live Register. This is the rationale behind the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy. The latest iteration of the Pathways to Work Strategy - Pathways to Work 2015, which was published earlier this month, includes a wide range of programmes and services to help unemployed jobseekers back to employment. These include programmes such as JobBridge, JobsPlus and Momentum introduced by this Government and schemes such as Community Employment and Tús, where the Department has significantly increased the number of places available.
Persons on the Live Register are also eligible to avail of up-skilling opportunities, for example through ETB (formerly FÁS) training for unemployed people and to receive a training allowance while undertaking the course (if they are already in receipt of a social welfare payment). Springboard and Skillnets courses for unemployed people, funded through the Department of Education and Skills, are also those who are signing on to the Live Register.
Pathways to Work 2015 also includes arrangements to increase the level of systematic engagement of the employment services with those who are out of work for long periods. There is also a specific focus on employer engagement to encourage employers to recruit from the Live Register.
193. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if the 25% Christmas bonus will be paid to all participants on all activation programmes, for example Tús, Gateway, community employment, JobBridge and so on. [40386/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe operational requirements to deliver the 25% Christmas Bonus, as announced on Budget Day, will shortly be finalised by the Department and a comprehensive list of all the schemes, including activation schemes, which will benefit will then be published.
195. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the full cost analysis of increasing child benefit by €5 per child that was announced in budget 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40414/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra196. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a full cost analysis of restoring child benefit to children in secondary school education who are 18 years of age and over; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40415/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together.
The recent Budget provided for an increase in child benefit of €5 per month per child with effect from January next and this increase brings the monthly rate to €135. The rate payable in respect of each twin will continue to be one and a half times the normal monthly rate while families with multiple births will also continue to receive child benefit at double the normal rate. The estimated cost is €72 million in a full year in respect of some 1,171,700 children.
The estimated cost, based on Department of Education and Skills data in relation to full time second level participation at the beginning of 2013, of paying child benefit to families in respect of their 18 year old children in full-time second-level education is €42.5 million in a full year.
198. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the introduction of an increased rate of household benefits package for individuals with higher than average electricity bills resulting from the use of medical appliances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40430/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department will spend €230 million this year on the household benefits package for almost 415,000 customers. The fuel allowance, worth €520 per year, is paid for 26 weeks from October to April to almost 415,000 households at an estimated cost of €208 million in 2014.
The Government has already announced that from 2015 both the household benefits package and the fuel allowance will also include a water support payment with an annual value of €100. The estimated cost of this new water support payment of €100 per annum will be in the region of €66 million in 2015.
Under the Department’s supplementary welfare allowance scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people who have special heating needs. A person may qualify for a heating supplement, if they can show that they have extra heating needs and increased energy costs because of their age, medical condition or disability, are living alone or only with a dependent adult or dependent children and satisfy a means test. More than 1,900 people are currently in receipt of this supplement.
In addition, exceptional needs payments (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet out of his or her own resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment. Each application is decided on the particular circumstances of the case. The provision for exceptional needs payments in 2014 is €31.3 million, with an additional €9.8 million for supplements.
201. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the additional expenditure her Department will need to incur in 2015 and 2016 to deal with demographic pressures [40438/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe principal demographic impact on the projected expenditure of the Department of Social Protection in the years ahead relates to the ongoing increase in the number of older people. It is estimated, in this regard, that the annual increase in expenditure on the main pension schemes operated by the Department will be in the order of €200 million in both 2015 and 2016 arising from demographic factors.
202. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form, the number of civil servants in her Department who have designated a County Mayo venue as their preference for a transfer; the numbers who have moved to the county in each year since 2011; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40900/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with formal protocols agreed between the Civil, Public and Services Union (CPSU) and the Department of Finance, the names of Clerical Officers and Staff Officers from across the civil service applying for a transfer to a particular location are recorded on the relevant transfer list.
Informal transfer lists are also maintained in respect of other grades.
The transfer lists are maintained by location with some people appearing on a number of lists. Some requests date back over 15 to 20 years.
Details of the number of names recorded on Mayo transfer lists and the number of transfers that have taken place in the years from 2011 to date are shown in the following table:
|
Number of names on Mayo transfer lists |
Transferred 2011 |
Transferred 2012 |
Transferred 2013 |
Transferred 2014 |
|
1,247 |
10 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
I would like to advise the Deputy that in accordance with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform policy, the Department is obliged to fill vacancies from the redeployment panel which is operated by the Public Appointment Service (PAS).
We can only refer to transfer lists where there is no one available for redeployment from across the Public Service. Also it is important to note that a number of the Department’s Offices in County Mayo have very small numbers with very little staff turnover.
203. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance the reason ballet is rated at 0% VAT and Irish dance, in all its forms, is charged at the full VAT rate of 23%; the reason ballet (details supplied) is considered as cultural while Irish dancing is considered luxury; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40215/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe EU VAT Directive, with which Irish VAT legislation must comply, provides a public interest exemption for education. This exemption is set out in paragraph 4(3) of Schedule 1 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 as children's or young people's education and school or university education provided by educational establishments recognised by the State and education of a similar kind provided by other persons. Ballet schools are regarded as providing VAT exempt education of a similar kind. This is because, in general, recognised ballet schools are run by qualified ballet teachers, who teach to an externally examinable syllabus. In contrast, a range of dance classes, including Irish dance lessons, do not qualify for the education exemption based on these criteria.
Dance lessons in general apply at the standard VAT rate, currently 23%, and not a lower VAT rate, as the EU VAT Directive does not make provision for a reduced rate to apply to dance lessons in general.
I would point out that the VAT Consolidation Act does provide a VAT exemption for the promotion of, and admission to, live theatrical or musical performances where food or drink is not provided during the performances. Admission fees to most feiseanna would benefit from this VAT exemption.
204. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Finance if there is a central organisation of the State bodies and agencies that receive payments by means of credit-debit card machines because of the wide variation in rates charged by machine operators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39757/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the Deputy's question there is no central organisation of the State Bodies and Agencies under the aegis of my Department that receive payments by means of credit/debit card machines.
205. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Finance the type of pension scheme provided to staff employed by the National Treasury Management Agency who work in the National Asset Management Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39766/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSuperannuation entitlements of NTMA staff are conferred under a defined benefit superannuation scheme set up under Section 8 of the National Treasury Management Agency Act 1990. Contributions are transferred to an externally managed fund. Members of the Scheme prior to 1 January 2010 will receive benefits based on final salary. Members of the Scheme from 1 January 2010 will receive benefits based on career average earnings.
The arrangements set out above apply to NTMA employees assigned to NAMA in the same way as to other NTMA employees.
206. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance his plans to amend the tax credit system to allow de facto families in long-term relationships receive the same tax benefits as married couples; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39771/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe position is that where a couple is cohabiting, rather than married or in a civil partnership, they are treated as separate and unconnected individuals for the purposes of income tax. Each partner is a separate entity for tax purposes and, therefore, cohabiting couples cannot file joint assessment tax returns or share their tax credits and tax bands in the same manner as married couples.
The basis for the current tax treatment of married couples derives from the Supreme Court decision in Murphy vs. Attorney General (1980), which held that it was contrary to the Constitution for a married couple, both of whom are working, to pay more tax than two single people living together and having the same income.
However, a cohabiting couple where both partners are working get, in total, the same tax credits as a married couple or couple in a civil partnership (i.e. €3,300). In addition, the same amount of income is subject to tax at the 20% rate (i.e. €32,800 each). This equates to the €65,600 threshold in the case of a married couple or couple in a civil partnership.
If both cohabitants earn in excess of the standard rate band (i.e. €32,800), then they both pay tax at 41% on any income in excess of €32,800. Married couples or couples in a civil partnership where both individuals work get the same treatment.
Furthermore, as a result of the changes introduced in the recent Budget, these thresholds will increase in 2015 to €33,800 and €67,800, respectively. This means that where both cohabitants pay tax at the higher rate, an additional €2,000 of a cohabiting couple's income will be subject to income tax at 20% rather than at 40%, resulting in a potential increase in net take home pay of up to €400 per annum.
207. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Finance the reason professional band musicians have to pay such a large proportion of their relatively small earnings on income tax and VAT; and the reason the VAT threshold is set at €37,500 when in the United Kingdom that VAT threshold is equal to €103,000. [39776/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the annual turnover threshold for VAT registration depends on the nature of the business carried out. Ireland operates two thresholds: the goods threshold, which is currently €75,000, and the services threshold, which is €37,500. In general, a person or company who supplies services, such as musician services, must register and account for VAT where their annual income exceeds the services threshold of €37,500.
VAT is governed by EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply. The EU VAT Directive provides that VAT exemption limits may only be raised in line with inflation, and as such, under EU VAT law it would not be possible to raise Ireland's VAT exemption threshold to the UK level of Stg £81,000. I would point out, however, that the Irish VAT exemption for small enterprises supplying services is the seventh highest in the EU while our goods threshold is the third highest. The UK VAT registration threshold is the highest such exemption in the EU.
For income tax purposes the income earned by a professional musician is treated in the same manner as income earned by any other taxpayer.
