Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 6 October 2020
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Revised Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Revised)
Vote 8 - Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Revised)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Revised)
Vote 10 - Tax Appeals Commission (Revised)
Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source
I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for both his detailed remarks and the comprehensive material provided.
I commend the Estimates. I have a couple of questions on Vote 9, which relates to the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. In 2020, €18 million in extra funding was allocated in respect of Brexit and the appointment of 330 staff to deal with the customs infrastructure. Have those positions been filled? If not, where are the gaps and can they be filled? Looking at the year ahead, has consideration been given to funding, indirectly or otherwise, for customs agents. Obviously agents are not employees of the State but it is going to be one of the huge issues facing the collection of revenue and the engagement of business with exports, particularly to the UK.
Finally, I commend the Revenue Commissioners on the excellent work they did last summer on the uptake of economic operator and registration identification, EORI, numbers by exporting companies. Up to 97% of companies have registered for these numbers. Can the Minister confirm whether the percentage has increased? Are his office and the Revenue Commissioners happy with the percentage?
No comments