Written Answers Nos. 41-60
41. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Transport the action his Department is and will take with regard to Luas operating capacity; how he will support the growing demand for Luas services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34939/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in conjunction with the Luas operator Transdev Ireland, and I have therefore forwarded the Deputy's question to the TII for direct reply.
Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
42. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Transport if his Department is aware of the ongoing infrequency of some older bus routes following the most recent phase of bus connects, such as the 11 bus; the steps his Department is taking to ensure a reliable service for users, and address any barriers to full operation of services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34940/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators.
The performance of all public transport operators is monitored by the NTA as part of their contractual arrangements. These contractual arrangements allow for not just the monitoring of performance by the NTA and the publication by it of annual performance reports, but importantly, the contracts also allow for the imposition of financial penalties where performance does not meet the required standard.
BusConnects is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across our cities. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history of the state and is managed by NTA.
I can assure you that my Department is committed to providing investment in our public transport network and that I am supportive of the Governments goals in delivering an accessible, affordable and reliable public transport network throughout the country.
In terms of frequency, we are supporting the rollout of increased service levels on existing services and ensuring enhanced frequency on new services as they are rolled out.
On reliability we have major infrastructure plans under BusConnects for each of the five cities as well as introducing improvements to vehicle location system and the real-time passenger information, all of which will improve the reliability of the system.
New bus services in Dublin are already being delivered, with the first five phases of the Network Redesign rolled out in recent years. Most recently, the E-Spine connecting Ballymun to Bray and L routes in Wicklow rolled out in January this year.
Overall, BusConnects will transform bus services in our cities, allowing passengers to travel more conveniently, quickly and sustainably, and I look forward to its full implementation.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's query to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
43. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Transport if he will expand on his closing comments on Wednesday’s private members motion on public transport experience regarding over 70’s school bus drivers; the steps he is taking to review this policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34981/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the school transport scheme is a matter for the Minister for Education and the Programme for Government (PFG) has committed to "Carry out an independent assessment on the feasibility of removing the exclusion of drivers aged over 70 from the School Transport Scheme".
The Programme for Government (PfG) also has committed to "Work to enhance and support the delivery of a skilled workforce to maintain and operate public transport vehicles". My Department chairs the Public Transport Workforce Taskforce which aims to progress this PfG commitment and to identify options to assist with resolving challenges regarding the recruitment of drivers and mechanics/craftworkers. The taskforce includes representatives from the school transport section in the Department of Education, relevant transport operators and agencies, and training bodies. The aim of the taskforce is to work collaboratively to identify contributing factors to the recruitment issues, and put forward an action plan with recommendations and measures to create a pipeline of workers to address these issues. Officials in my department will also continue to engage with other stakeholders, including the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, during the preparation of the action plan.
In line with this work, the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment signed regulations on 11 April 2025 extending the general employment permit quotas for HGV/Bus mechanics and vehicle repairers, increasing the total number of quotas available for these roles by 200 permits.
44. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the formal determination of the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (details supplied); if he agrees that his Department is a competent authority to follow up on this protected disclosure under EU Regulation 376/2014 and Directive 2019/1937; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34993/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt would not be appropriate for me as Minister, nor for my Department, to comment on matters relating to individual protected disclosures reports.
45. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the total number of employees at NAMA that have not entered into a voluntary redundancy scheme; the number of employees that have not entered a redundancy scheme that earn above €200,000; if the CEO has entered a redundancy scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34561/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that, as recently published in the 2024 NAMA Financial Statements, 75 employees assigned to NAMA are expected to leave via the redundancy programme for employees assigned to NAMA.
Of the two other remaining employees assigned to NAMA, one will be assigned in the first instance to the NTMA Resolution Unit. The other is the current NAMA CEO, in respect of whom the NTMA has advised no final arrangements have been made at this time.
As the Deputy will be aware, all employees assigned to NAMA are employed by the NTMA.
46. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Finance to provide the par value of loans acquired by NAMA from each associated bank; the value of securities/funds provided to each bank in return; and the number of loans received by NAMA from each bank, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34596/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that NAMA acquired impaired loans with a par debt of €74 billion. In return, the banks received consideration of €32 billion, 95% of which was government-guaranteed senior debt issued to the financial institutions and therefore a contingent liability for Irish taxpayers.
The table below sets out the requested information. Since its establishment in December 2009, the Agency has successfully achieved its commercial mandate set for it by the Oireachtas.
As the Deputy may be aware, in Q1 2025 the NAMA Board increased its overall surplus projection to €5.5 billion from €5.2 billion, an increase of €300 million. This includes a projection of €450m in tax paid by NAMA to the Exchequer. By end 2024, €4.69 billion from NAMA’s surplus had been transferred to the State, inclusive of tax payments made, NAMA expects to transfer a further €800 million surplus (including National Asset Residential Property Services (NARPS)) by the time it completes its work at end-2025.
Once NAMA had repaid all debt (€31.8bn) and equity (€56m) obligations, it was able to commence the transfer of its surplus funds to the Exchequer in 2020.
|
- |
AIB |
Anglo |
BOI |
EBS |
INBS |
Total |
|
Loan balances transferred to NAMA |
€20.4bn |
€34.1bn |
€9.9bn |
€0.9bn |
€8.7bn |
€74bn |
|
Consideration paid by NAMA |
€9.0bn |
€13.4bn |
€5.6bn |
€0.4bn |
€3.4bn |
€31.8bn |
|
Number of loans |
4,700 |
5,800 |
1,800 |
500 |
700 |
13,500 |
*All figures are rounded in the table above.
47. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance to provide each risk grading that is, low, medium and high that was assigned to Israeli bonds prospectus based on the Central Bank of Ireland's risk-based approach for the prospectus approved in each period, September 2021; September 2024, February 2024 and June 2024. [34691/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra48. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance which approach to review a two eyes review or a four eyes review based on the Central Bank of Ireland's risk-based approach was taken with Israeli bonds prospectus approved in each period, September 2021. September 2024, February 2024 and June 2024. [34692/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 48 together.
The Minister of Finance is not involved in operational matters of the Bank, however, having consulted with the Central Bank of Ireland my officials inform me that the Central Bank operate a specific risk based approach for prospectus supervision. Generally under the Central Bank's current risk based approach, all prospectuses for securities with retail denominations are reviewed as high risk resulting in a full four eyes review. Finally, it is important to note that the Central Bank are not in a position to comment on an individual application as they are subject to supervisory confidentiality obligations under Section 33AK of the Central Bank Act.
49. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance for the list of those in the media and other stakeholders that receive the Central Bank Quarterly Bulletin in advance of publication; to confirm the rules governing the provision of such reports to media or other stakeholders in advance of publication; how the release of market sensitive information that may be contained in such reports is regulated; if his Department provides official reports in advance to media; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34737/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Central Bank of Ireland has provided me with the following information on the matter.
The Central Bank of Ireland’s Quarterly Bulletin is released under embargo by the Bank’s media relations team to members of the media in advance of publication. They do not have a set list of the recipients, as each publication that is released under embargo is reviewed in advance on a case by case basis and depending on the topics, sensitivity of the information, registered attendees for a media briefing etc. a determination is then made on the appropriate circulation list.
There can also be communication between staff and officials in the Department of Finance and other Departments, if relevant, on the contents of reports etc. in advance of publication.
As noted above there are no set rules governing the provision of such reports to media or other stakeholders in advance of publication; each publication is reviewed on a case by case basis depending on the information contained in it.
Publications containing information that is deemed market sensitive is, as outlined above, managed on a case by case basis depending on the information contained in the publication. In many cases with such publications (for example the Central Bank of Ireland’s Mortgage Measures Framework) a decision is made that the information is so sensitive that it should not be released under embargo and will only be released at the same time as it is published on the Central Bank of Ireland’s website.
My Department does not provide official reports on the Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin to the media.
50. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Finance the category of taxpayer that is liable for the VAT information exchange system; the rate at which the tax is levied; whether the VIES tax collected is maintained by the Exchequer; whether there is a process for reclaiming VIES; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34772/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that the Irish VAT law is subject to the requirements of the EU VAT Directive with which Irish VAT law is obliged to comply. Under the Directive, VAT registered traders and certain other entities have a range of administrative obligations that concern the payment of VAT, VAT identification, invoicing, accounting for VAT, filing of VAT returns, and VAT recapitulative statements (VIES returns) amongst other obligations. These rules concern the administration of the VAT system, detailing how VAT is collected and paid and the documents / statements that are required, including the VIES return.
The VIES return is for reporting on intra-EU trade and assists in administrative co-operation and reporting across the European Union (EU) Member States. The VIES regime does not levy or facilitate the charging or reclaiming of VAT or contribute to the Exchequer.
Recapitulative statements were first introduced in 1993, following the introduction of the Single Market. Every VAT registered trader is required to submit a statement (VIES return) containing certain information of their cross-border supplies to other VAT registered customers in other EU Member States. This requirement was extended to cross border supplies of services in 2010.
Irish VAT registered traders who engage in intra-Community supplies of goods and services to VAT registered traders in other Member States are obliged to register for VIES and submit periodic statements of their intra-Community trade to Revenue. There is no threshold for registration. These periodic statements detail a range of information including VAT registrations of the supplier and customer, the details of the goods or services supplied, and the total aggregate value of the supplies made to the customer in that period. VIES statements are required to be submitted quarterly unless the supplies exceed €50,000 for goods. Suppliers of services may opt to file quarterly or monthly statements only. Where a supplier makes no supplies to other Member States in a particular period, a “Nil” statement must be submitted for that period. Traders who are only registered for a domestic VAT number are not required to make VIES returns.
The VIES regime also provides a mechanism where checks can be carried out in Member States on the validity of claims to zero-rating. It also helps detect unreported movements of zero-rated goods between Member State and enables traders to confirm the VAT registration numbers of their customers.
Further information in relation to VIES is available on the Revenue website www.revenue.ie/en/customs/businesses/importing-exporting/vies-intrastat-mutual-assistance-vima/index.aspx.
A detailed guide for traders is also available on the Revenue website www.revenue.ie/en/customs/documents/vies/vies-traders-manual.pdf
51. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Finance the number of companies that have availed of the Key Employee Engagement Programme each year since its introduction, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34972/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra52. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Finance the number of corresponding employees who benefited from the Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP) each year since its introduction, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34973/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 52 together.
The Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP) was introduced by Finance Act 2017 and commenced on 1 January 2018, via section 128F of the Taxes Consolidation Act (“TCA”) 1997. The aim of the scheme is to support SMEs in Ireland in competing with larger enterprises to recruit and retain key employees, by way of a targeted share option programme. KEEP is a notified State aid scheme; in addition there are a number of qualifying conditions to be met. Where the provisions of section 128F TCA 1997 are met, an exemption from income tax, USC and PRSI applies to a qualifying employee on any gain realised on the exercise of a qualifying share option.
Section 128F imposes an obligation on every qualifying company to file a return with Revenue for any year in which it grants an option to an employee, or any year in which an option is exercised, transferred, or released. This return is known as the KEEP1 and must be filed on or before 31 March in the following year.
The table below represents the number of companies who filed a KEEP1 return for each year since the introduction of the KEEP scheme. As outlined, a company is obliged to file a return for each year in which it grants an option to an employee, and each year in which an option is exercised, transferred, or released. As result a company may be included in one or more tax years below.
The table below also shows the number of employees who exercised a share option and availed of the tax relief afforded by the KEEP scheme in each corresponding year. The number of employees who exercised a share option is as returned by the relevant company in the annual KEEP 1 return.
This data represents a point in time position based on the information available to Revenue. It should be noted that these figures may be subject to review and updated at a later date. Please note that due to Revenue’s responsibility to protect taxpayer confidentiality, and Statistical Disclosure Closures (“SDC”) rules, Revenue does not provide data points on groupings of taxpayers (individuals or companies) where the number of taxpayers in that grouping is less than 10. In addition, as there was no opportunity for employees to exercise share options in the 2018 tax year, a non-applicable (N/A) value is applied in the table below.
|
Year |
No. of Companies |
No. of employees |
|
2018 |
10 |
(N/A) |
|
2019 |
35 |
less than 10 |
|
2020 |
30 |
37 |
|
2021 |
43 |
32 |
|
2022 |
40 |
26 |
|
2023 |
35 |
less than 10 |
53. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to detail all capital works done on Santry Garda station since 2000; by year, in tabular form. [34595/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraDue to the scope of the question OPW are collating the information and will response directly to the deputy as soon as possible.
54. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will clarify the procedures relating to the screening of ministerial civilian drivers, and whether convictions for driving offences such as drink driving are any bar to appointing persons to the role; and whether applicants, or successful applicants, are subject to Garda vetting by the NGVB. [34610/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraMinisters and Ministers of State may make certain personal appointments, which, in the case of Ministers of State, include that of Civilian Drivers. Ministers’ drivers are members of An Garda Síochána. Under delegated sanction arrangements, Ministerial appointments to the positions of Civilian Driver do not require sanction by the Minister of the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, subject to the overall requirements set out in the Guidelines on the Appointment of Ministerial Personal Staff for the 34th Dáil (https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/Instructions_to_HR_Managers.pdf) published in the gov.ie website.
In line with Section 8 of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act (“the PSMA”) 2004, where an appointment is made to the post of Civilian Driver, an Excluding Order is required. Excluding orders are made only in specific, limited circumstances where the usual recruitment process under the PSMA and the Code of Practice for Appointment to Positions in the Civil and Public Service published by the Commission for Public Service Appointments do not apply.
In accordance with the Guidelines on Staffing of Ministerial Offices that followed Government Decision S180/20/10/2949 of 25 February 2025, Ministers of State shall appoint 2 Civilian Drivers. The selection of these appointees is a matter for each individual Minister of State and service in such posts is coterminous with the term of office of the appointing Minister.
As these posts are subject to excluding orders and are Ministerial personal appointments, determinations regarding the necessity of Garda vetting are a matter for the relevant Minister of State.
55. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of WTE accountants working within his Department in 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [34728/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe number of staff working as accountants at professional accountant grades in my Department is set out in the table below.
|
- |
2024 |
2025 |
|
No. of Whole Time Equivalent staff at Professional Accountant Grades |
8 |
8 |
56. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will outline a procedure (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34770/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the gov.ie website is the key source of information on government and public services. Initially launched in 2018 by my Department, it aims to provide a much better user experience by thematically presenting and simplifying information about our public services to ensure that they are not only easy to find, but also easy to follow and navigate. Gov.ie is a trusted platform for Government communications, handling approximately 75 million page views in 2024 and was the key communications tool and information resource for the public during covid-19 in particular. The gov.ie information service now also incorporates the latest news and updates from government that were previously published on the merrionstreet.ie website.
I wish to inform the Deputy that the Gov.ie website underwent a major system upgrade in April 2025 with 183,707 pages migrated, along with 9,737 images and 133,925 documents. In a mass movement of web content, it is inevitable that some broken links will occur and that these will take time to identify and resolve. An audit conducted post-migration revealed less than 1% of all pages were affected by broken links. Any broken links were replaced with placeholder text, “Item has been unpublished or removed”, rather than returning an error. At that time, my Department alerted the relevant government departments and public service bodies to the broken links on their pages and resolution of the issue is ongoing by these organisations. A notice informing the public is also currently live on the gov.ie homepage.
My Department is committed to the open publication of government information and I can assure the Deputy there is no coordinated campaign underway to suppress information nor has any systematic removal of links or documents taken place. The issue here is a technical one which is being actively worked on to resolve. Pending full resolution of this issue, if the Deputy or indeed any member of the public requires access to a particular document that is affected by this issue, they are welcome to contact relevant Government Departments.
57. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he supports and if his Department has been involved in discussions surrounding, a proposal for an European Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive to create a rebuttable 'presumption of causality', which would assist musicians, performers and composers to vindicate their right to equitable remuneration for use of their work by artificial intelligence companies without consent or compensation; if he considered the need for protections of this sort in domestic Irish legislation to protect the Irish music sector; and his plans to protect Irish culture from the potential harms of artificial intelligence scraping of cultural material. [34954/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI recognise the increasing importance of ensuring that the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies uphold the rights of creators, including musicians, performers, and composers. In December 2022, my Department launched a public consultation on the proposed European Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive, seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders, including those representing the creative and cultural sectors. This consultation concluded in January 2023.
However, the proposed Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive has since been withdrawn, as indicated in the European Commission’s 2025 Work Programme. The withdrawal was due to the lack of foreseeable agreement among Member States. The Commission has stated that it will evaluate whether to introduce a new proposal or consider alternative approaches to address the underlying issues.
The Government recognises the need to protect the Irish music sector and broader cultural industries from the unauthorised use of their work by AI systems, particularly in cases where such use occurs without consent or compensation.
Ireland and the EU are currently implementing the AI Act, which includes provisions related to general-purpose AI that will come into force on 2 August of this year. My Department holds a lead role in this process. These provisions will require general purpose AI providers to put in place a policy to comply with EU copyright law, and document technical information about the model for the purpose of providing that information upon request to the AI Office and national competent authorities. The AI Office, which is part of the European Commission, will directly enforce these provisions of the AI Act.
The European Commission has begun its review of the 2019 Copyright in the DSM Directive. This process is at a very early stage, and, depending on the outcome of the review process, it may result in proposed changes to EU copyright laws, including in response to technological developments and AI. My Department will engage with stakeholders in Ireland to ensure their views are considered as part of this process.
58. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether any stakeholder within the music sector lobbied the Government for the transfer of functions relating to dispute resolution of sound recording copyright from the Controller of Intellectual Property to the Circuit Courts in advance of the publishing of the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025; and to provide details of times, dates and participants in correspondence or meetings where this transfer of functions was discussed. [34564/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to inform the Deputy that, to date, no representations were received from or lobbying efforts made by any stakeholder within the music sector in relation to the transfer of functions concerning the dispute resolution of sound recording copyright from the Controller of Intellectual Property to the Circuit Courts prior to the publication of the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025.
This legislative amendment was introduced to ensure compliance with EU Directive 2006/115/EC and to address deficiencies identified by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Irish High Court. The decision to transfer these functions was based on legal considerations, not on representations or lobbying from sectoral stakeholders.
Accordingly, there are no records of correspondence, meetings, or consultations involving music sector stakeholders in which this transfer of functions was discussed prior to the publication of the Bill on 13 June 2025.
59. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether any stakeholder within the music sector lobbied the Government for erasing the role of licensing bodies from dispute resolution of sound recording copyright in advance of the publishing of the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025; and to provide details of times, dates and participants in correspondence or meetings where this erasure was discussed. [34565/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to inform the Deputy that, following a comprehensive review of departmental record, there are no records to reflect any stakeholders within the music sector lobbied the Government to remove the role of licensing bodies from the dispute resolution process for sound recording copyright in advance of the publication of the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025.
The amended section 208 removes the arbitration function in cases where parties cannot reach agreement on the sharing of equitable remuneration from the Controller of Intellectual Property of Ireland and grants this to the Circuit Court. The proposed amendment to section 208 the Copyright and Related Rights Act does not alter the role of licensing bodies in dispute resolution of sound recordings, and this was not considered.
60. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of applications made each year to the Controller of Intellectual Property in relation to sound recording copyright. [34566/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo date, a single application has been submitted to the Controller of Intellectual Property concerning sound recording copyright.
This application was lodged in September 2021 under Section 208(5) of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, seeking an order pursuant to Section 208(8) of the same Act.
However, following receipt of this application, legal advice was obtained which indicated that, due to deficiencies in the relevant legislative provisions, the application could not proceed to a hearing.
Amendments to address these legislative shortcomings are currently advancing through the legislative process in the form of the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025.
No further applications have been made to the Controller in this regard.
