Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 2 February 2022
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure and Reform (Revised)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised)
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source
The point I was making was I do not have a legal right to accessing that information. The Deputy is correct in stating the money I give back every year, and that which the Deputy and others give back, comes into the central Exchequer and is used accordingly for all the purposes for which we spend public money. My point was that the mechanism for waiving the money, or actually gifting it back to the Exchequer, is through the Taxes Consolidation Act; it is anchored in taxation legislation.
It is a fundamental tenet of our tax system that people do have a right to privacy, so I do not have a right to know how much an individual is gifting back every year. People can make a voluntary declaration if they so wish. On the other hand, they do not have to. I am just outlining what the factual position is.
No comments