Results 32,921-32,940 of 34,956 for speaker:Seán Fleming

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: Without getting into the budget immediately, one fact which may help people in understanding the budget scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, 13 October, is that we normally get the September figures the Friday before the budget is announced. We get these at very short notice and the budget figures sometimes have to be changed over the weekend. We are fortunate that, because of the...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: That is correct.

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: The only point I will make with regard to the Deputy's remark is that, while the Government has always outlined its proposals, these have always been subject to the envelope available on budget day. This is always impacted by the results at the end of September, the last figures before the budget, because it is a very significant period of the year in terms of corporation tax. In every...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: That is correct.

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: That is correct.

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: Everything the Government announces on budget day is subject to available resources. Everything the Deputy has just outlined is dependent on resources being available. It will not be announced until the day. I indicated earlier that, with regard to withholding tax, the Department of Finance had to prioritise the temporary wage subsidy scheme, the employee wage subsidy scheme and the July...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: Can I ask the Deputy to what he is referring?

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: I ask the Deputy to bear with me for a moment.

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: The answer to that is that as time goes on, there will be increased funding from the financial institutions. When the office of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman was set up, the contribution from the State was around €960,000. The funding allocated is decreasing because the funding to that office from Financial institutions is increasing commensurately. Like the...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: I have not.

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: There may be Supplementary Estimates if necessary. I ask the Deputy to bear with me for a few minutes while I find the pages.

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: That is correct, however, an increasing level of funding for that office is now provided by the financial institutions. Therefore, the €768 million is our commitment for the year, and significant costs will be borne by the financial institutions. It is only a matter of timing whether we pay in early or late. I am not aware of any need for a Supplementary Estimate at this time. I...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: The Revenue Commissioners are satisfied with facilities and the number of staff they have in place. The biggest risk will be to small businesses that have not yet fully grasped that there will be issues with customs clearance. This morning, I met Enterprise Ireland, the main job of which through local enterprise offices is to ensure small businesses are aware of these risks. Large...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: They will. It depends on the products they are importing. The ability to use the land bridge means that businesses that get customs clearance leaving Ireland when travelling via Dover to mainland Europe will not require further customs clearance. That will also be the case in respect of goods being transported in the opposite direction. The issues will arise in respect of products coming...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: Is the Deputy is referring to the law charges?

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: Last year's outcome included some once-off items, which resulted in figures that were exceptionally higher than originally planned for at the beginning of 2019. The final outturn, therefore, for 2019 is not expected to be a benchmark for this year. We are basing this year's figure, therefore, more on the original Estimate for last year, and, if we do not have any unusual once-off items like...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: I asked for a note on this issue. As was said, rightly, the medical board is run by the HSE, which is not within the remit of this Department. The Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal, however, is within the remit of the Department of Finance, and that is where appeals come. We have a figure of €370,000 in the Department's Vote for running the medical board of appeal. It...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: Two families took it to court.

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: Any formal request from the Accounting Officer at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General would have been accepted by the Department. It is not for me to speak for an independent office, but I believe it would benefit from having, for example, a number of staff who could provide technical services internally. In addition, the office does not have any medical people even though one...

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) (6 Oct 2020)

Seán Fleming: I am not aware of any request that has been refused. I would make the point that there are public sector agreements which determine the number of cases the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General can outsource for external audit. There has often been a backlog even though it has improved significantly. There has been a regular question of why he does not outsource some of the...