Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We had Revenue in last week on bogus self-employment and the courier deal. It said it was the fault of the Department of Social Protection because of the test cases and the poor criteria set out. The Department of Social Protection said there were no test cases, then there were test cases. A letter in the Department's correspondence to the Committee of Public Accounts from Mr. McKeon's predecessor states that test cases were selected for detailed investigation. This process resulted in a decision by the appeals officer of the social welfare appeals office on 12 June 1995, who decided that a courier was self-employed if he provided his own vehicle and equipment, was responsible for all expenses, including tax and insurance and payment was made on the basis of rate per job plus mileage and allowance. It went on to say that the appeal officer's decision established the criteria in relation to the employment status of couriers that has since been generally accepted throughout the industry and also by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. That coincides with what the Revenue Commissioners told us last week, that it was a single precedent set by the Department of Social Protection that led to all couriers being deemed to be self-employed. As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts I am deeply unsatisfied with the responses from both bodies. The only step we can take now is to commission an independent investigation into the background to this deal. I am sure the Secretary General of the Department would support that. Would his Department agree to commission an independent investigation from someone outside the State? I am sure he would support that in the interests of transparency and to clear all this up.