Results 3,661-3,680 of 5,388 for speaker:John Deasy

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: Okay.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: That is fine. There is a reason Deputy John McGuinness, a member of Fianna Fáil, is the Chairman of this committee. It is meant to be non-political and bipartisan. Deputy McDonald is using this committee for political ends. She has been doing it for a while and she needs to stop because she is affecting the workings of this committee, which is important. The public and the people...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: The debate in the Dáil yesterday is the evidence.

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: I welcome the witnesses. The authorised officer in this case would have been a source of information for Revenue and would have assisted Revenue's investigations as a matter of course. If Revenue, as an organisation, settled with somebody, would he have known that?

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: This is a critical issue because to a great extent, we are talking in the dark here. He would not have known because Revenue would not have divulged such information to the authorised officer at any point because, as Ms Feehily has said several times, Revenue does not divulge personal information relating to the tax affairs of any citizen. If Revenue had pursued an individual, even someone...

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: So, the individual who has pursuing this issue for many years has no information with regard to how Revenue has pursued prosecutions or made settlements. If Revenue made settlements with individuals, some of whom are named in the dossier, he would not have that information.

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: So we really are talking in the dark here. Not to beat around the bush, the accusation has been made that the Revenue Commissioners and other organisations did not complete investigations into particular Ansbacher accounts appropriately or properly. Accusations have been made of political interference. As Deputy Ross said, the main accusation relates to things Revenue did not do. Were...

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: Ms Feehily made reference to the fact that when a criminal investigation would not pan out, her office turns to civil action. Does the ten-year rule apply in those circumstances too?

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: I ask this because for the public looking in, this is the main issue. The public want to know why Revenue cannot go back 20 or 30 years in the course of an investigation. It would be helpful if Ms Feehily spelled out why that is the case. Is it because Revenue cannot get its hands on the original documentation, some of which may date back to the 1970s? Is it because of common law and the...

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: I return to the reason we are here, that is, the accusation that Revenue did not investigate this matter properly. I would like Ms Feehily to provide information on the special projects team that was appointed to investigate the Ansbacher accounts, the number of people who were involved and the expertise they possessed.

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: Ms Feehily referred to the ten-year rule being a serious impediment. Were there other impediments? The legislation underpinning the 1993 tax amnesty was introduced. Did the then board of Revenue or any senior officials give an official opinion to the Department of Finance with regard to this amnesty? Some people, including a number of academics, remain of the opinion that the tax amnesty...

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: It is fair to say Revenue does not like amnesties at all.

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: It particularly did not like the one to which I refer.

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: Specifically, what were the impediments involved?

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: Let us stick with the 20 Ansbacher account holders who availed of the tax amnesty in 1993. While Revenue was investigating this in 2003, 2004 and 2005, the Chairman had been there for ten years. For example, Revenue was not able to trace the source of moneys, which I understand to have been a major bugbear within the Chairman's organisation.

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: At that time, when Revenue had made its considerations regarding its difficulties with the legislation that had been drafted and had been availed of by 20 particular Ansbacher account holders, did Revenue make its displeasure known to the Department of Finance?

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: How did Revenue do that?

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: What was the response?

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: Was the reason given for that? Revenue obviously spelled out serious concerns with regard to particular individuals because it was precluded from pursuing them.

Public Accounts Committee: Investigations by Revenue into Authorised Officers Report (4 Dec 2014)

John Deasy: Which one?