Cost to take priority over ‘aesthetics' in future State infrastructure projects
national children's hospital
, the Minister for Public Expenditure
Jack Chambers
has said.
'There needs to be much better discipline in cost effectiveness in projects,' Mr Chambers said in London. 'That means making choices around cost and efficiency over design standards and aesthetics in some instances. There are important lessons out of the children's hospital,' he said.
The Minister confirmed the Government will publish a review next month of the State's €165 billion National Development Plan that will map out multiannual spending on specific projects into the medium term, instead of planning funding year-by-year.
'We have heard the concerns about the annualised nature of [current] funding and how that affects the pipeline of projects,' said the Minister. 'Some commercial State bodies aren't even sure on a year-to-year basis what projects they can commence.'
READ MORE
He said a new approach to decide funding for a pipeline of projects over the longer term would 'send a strong signal to the market that the projects are coming'.
Water, wastewater and energy projects will be prioritised over all other types of investment, along with transport infrastructure targeted at areas where new housing can be built. The review will also allocate an extra €20 billion for investment, comprised of back-taxes received from Apple, the State's sale of AIB shares and other funds.
Mr Chambers spoke to The Irish Times on the margins of an insurance industry event at the City of London offices of the Fidelis Partnership, a specialist firm that covers risky events such as wars.
He said he was still in talks with other Ministers over infrastructural spending but hinted he planned to disappoint them with a 'disciplined' focus on his core priorities of water, energy and transport to boost housing.
'There is always ambition in Government that exceeds what's possible.' He said the core areas he intends to prioritise 'are not optional extras'. He singled out investment in the power grid as one area to be prioritised at the expense of less urgent projects.
'We have an infrastructural deficit. We need to address that and front up to it. That means choices and trade-offs.'
The Minister said rules around capital spending in State departments and agencies will also be overhauled to cut red-tape and reduce 'needless delays'.
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Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Inheritance, relatives and blended families: what does it mean for tax-free thresholds?
Could you clarify a passing comment that you made in your article last week. You used the phrase 'by blood'. Are you drawing a distinction with uncle or aunt by marriage versus an uncle or aunt 'by blood'? In other words, are you saying that a child can inherit under Class B from their parent's sibling, but not the spouse of that sibling? Are you sure that is correct as I do not see any such distinction in Revenue guidance ? It also raises the question of who is 'the parent' in the case of a divorce and remarriage. Does the birth parent for Class A purposes cease to be a parent on remarriage or can the step-parent become one? Mr DL READ MORE I always wonder when I write 'by blood' whether it is clearly understood. As with many recurring items, I have set out clearly what that means at one point or another but often revert to the shorthand. And yes, it can be counterintuitive if, like me, you grew up in a family where aunts were regarded as aunts regardless of whether they were my parents' siblings or had married into the family – and similarly for uncles. But Revenue does make a distinction when it comes to inheritance. The three inheritance tax thresholds are very specifically delineated according to blood relationship between the person making the gift or leaving the inheritance in their will and the person receiving it. Category A, which offers the highest tax-free threshold – currently €400,000 – is generally referred to as covering gifts and inheritances from a parent to a child, but it is slightly wider than that. [ Inheritance tax: How to avoid leaving your loved ones with a hefty bill Opens in new window ] For instance, if it is the child that dies – as an adult or otherwise – and the parent who inherits from them, the parent will also benefit from the Category A threshold as long as they are inheriting outright – rather than, say, getting a life interest in a property. The threshold will also apply to a child – anyone under the age of 18 – where they are inheriting from their grandparent when their parent is dead. We'll come back to that Category A in a minute in relation to the second part of your query. Category B covers close blood relatives other than parents – or other scenarios covered by Category A. It is sometimes described as lineal relations – i.e. those in a direct line of descent or ancestry. Most commonly, that is seen as covering gifts and inheritance from a brother or sister, a grandparent and an uncle or aunt. And yes, it is only aunts or uncles related by blood – i.e. siblings of one or other parent. You're certainly right to query it. I used to think it covered everyone with that title but I did check with the Revenue commissioners and they did confirm that there had to be a blood relationship with the aunt or uncle for them to be covered under Category B. Category B will also cover life interest inheritance from a child to a parent or any inheritance from a child to an aunt, uncle or grandparent in the unfortunate circumstance of the child predeceasing the older relative. [ Will inheritance tax be cut again in the budget? Opens in new window ] Many people worry about what other people will pay in tax on an unexpected windfall (inheritance) after they are gone. Photograph: Getty Images There is a growing clamour – particularly from people who do not have children – for reform of this Category B. As it stands, the tax-free threshold under Category B is €40,000, just 10 per cent of the Category A threshold. An awful lot of people worry about what other people will pay in tax on an unexpected windfall (inheritance) after they are gone. Personally, I always find that odd but that's not to say it is not a thing. There is pressure either to raise this significantly or to find some other device to allow people without children nominate one or two beneficiaries who can avail of a higher threshold. It is something that has been examined in the Tax Strategy Papers published recently by the Department of Finance . These papers examine issues that might be addressed in the budget later this year or a budget further down the line. As is their wont, this review merely sets out options and, to the degree possible, their likely cost or benefit to the exchequer. Whether one approach should be favoured over another or whether any policy change should be pursued remains a political matter for decision by the Government . Finally, we have Category C which covers all other people benefiting from a gift or inheritance – sometimes called 'strangers in blood' where the current tax-free threshold is €20,000. [ I am due to inherit €30,000, is it worth my while to gift my husband half to avoid tax? Opens in new window ] The three inheritance tax thresholds are delineated according to blood relationship between the person leaving the inheritance in their will and the person receiving it. Photograph: Getty Images And you can see here why Revenue specifies that aunts and uncles in Category B must be blood relations, not relations by marriage. Apart from friends, neighbours, carers, gardeners etc, Category C also includes cousins who are, by definition, blood relatives of some sort and also in-laws, whom in many cases can be closer to the disponer (the person making the gift or inheritance) than even a niece or nephew by blood. But so it is. As regular readers will know, the other key thing to note is that these are lifetime limits on all gifts and inheritances dating back under each category to December 5th, 1991. So, under Category B, you need to tot up all large gifts and inheritances you have received from any grandparent, sibling, aunt or uncle to see if your latest windfall is tax-free or otherwise. And when we say gifts, we mean gifts valued at more than €3,000, as anything below that in any year is covered by the small gift exemption and is also tax free. Finally, once to hit 80 per cent of the relevant threshold – benefits of €320,000, €32,000 and €16,000 for each category respectively, you need to file an inheritance tax return to Revenue even though no tax is owing until you exceed the full threshold. Getting back to your second query – the position with blended families after divorce, remarriage and separation – you're quite correct to say that this is increasingly relevant in our modern society. We need to return to the question of the Category A threshold. When it states that a child can receive up to €400,000 tax-free from parents, the definition of child also refers to stepchildren and to adopted children. In fact, it even applies to foster children as long as those foster children spent at least five years with the family before the age of 18 at the family's expense. So does that mean that a child who is adopted or whose parents have divorced and remarried can receive category A benefits from more than two parents? Yes, it does. A stepchild qualifies for Category A on inheritance or gift from their birth parents and from any step-parent. The same is true for a child formally adopted. But birth parents are not removed from the Category A equation. A child can still avail of Category A in relation to a birth parent, even after divorce and remarriage, or where the child has been adopted elsewhere, as can a child who has been fostered under the criteria mentioned above. The one difference between the three categories of child is that if an adopted child's birth parent dies without making a will, they are not entitled to anything under intestacy where a stepchild and a fostered child would be. Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to , with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
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