Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

When in a moment of weakness the Chief Whip contacted me and asked if I would accept an appointment as a member of the Select Committee on Finance and the Public Service, which is to consider this Bill in detail, I agreed not realising the committee would deal with a Bill consisting of 125 sections and eight Schedules, all of which would have to be teased out and carefully analysed before the committee put its imprimatur on it. This will not be the first time I have dealt with a consolidation Bill. I recall, following my election to this House being appointed a member of the committee which dealt with consolidation of social welfare Bills. It may, therefore, be appropriate for me to deal with this Bill at this stage.

Much work done on this Bill to date has been worthwhile. The work to be done by the committee will be also worthwhile in that it is important that there is complete clarity and certainty in regard to taxation provisions. There is nowadays a huge obligation on taxpayers to self assess and to make their own returns. This also applies in respect of VAT, in respect of which penalties apply where people get it wrong. It is important for those making self assessments that there is clarity in regard to their obligations. From that point of view, this consolidation Bill will be worthwhile in terms of it being the one central reference point for any such queries. Currently, there is in place a hotch potch of legislation with the original Act having been amended every year, in some instances twice yearly, since its introduction. I am happy to work with members of the committee, including Deputies Michael Ahern and Michael McGrath, on this task. The only consolation is that work on this Bill must be completed by the end of this month. It will not be an easy task to get through our work on the Bill in time. It will be three weeks' hard labour.

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