Results 4,501-4,520 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: Thank you. I am not petty-minded about travel and subsistence but I have to ask why there is an increase of 18% pencilled into the Estimate for 2013. I assume it is related to the EU Presidency. Will the Minister confirm if that is the case? He indicated in respect of salaries, wages and allowances, which account for a significant part of the outturn for last year coming in well below the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: There is one follow-on. The Estimate for 2012 overall for Vote 7 was €32 million, give or take. Some €24.6 million was spent which the Minister said was due to tight management but the Estimate for 2013 is more than €33 million, therefore the Estimate is going back up beyond the Estimate for 2012. Is that Presidency related? I do not need the minutiae of it.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: I wish to make that very point.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: How is subhead A2 broken down?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: I am working from the briefing notes and there are selected subheads from the programmes there.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: No, those are the administrative subheads. The only A subhead is A3 which is on page 13 of 40.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: It is in that book.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: Some subheads within the programmes were selected and brought into the briefing. They are the big ticket items generally.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: Why in the economic planning and reform project which relates to Ireland's exit from the programme is there a total cost of €1.4 million pencilled in across a number of the divisions within the Department? Will the Minister explain that, please? It is €350,000 under subhead A3 and there are four such figures of €350,000.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: Is it a troika requirement or an initiative of the Government?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: It is not a fiscal plan; it is a broader economic plan. Is that the case?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: What accounts for the increase from €1.1 million to €2.2 million in subhead B2?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: I would like to ask the Minister about the overall figures in this area. Last year's Estimate was approximately €6.6 million and the outturn was approximately €5 million. The Estimate before us provides for approximately €6 million. What accounted for the large saving last year? Why is it going back up this year?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: Have we finished dealing with the outputs under Vote 8?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: I will leave it until we come to the outputs.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: I would like to ask the Minister about the implications of the local property tax for Revenue. It has had to take on additional staff. I understand the change in overall salary payments is quite modest. Can the Minister give us some information on the number of additional staff who were taken on? I am aware that Revenue has outsourced work to a call centre. Where does that appear under...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: That is fine. I will refer briefly to the outputs in the meantime. I note there is an objective in 2013 to devote at least 25% of compliance resources to target and intervene in cash and shadow economies and smuggling activities. Has the Revenue identified the targeting of the black economy as a particular priority in the current year?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: I know these are early days, but has any preliminary analysis of the returns been done to ascertain whether people have generally accepted the valuation bands they were given in the guidance documents? Are more people coming in under the valuation guide or above it? Is any information on the profile of the returns available yet?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: Okay.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2013
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 - Office of the Appeal Commissioners (Revised) (22 May 2013)

Michael McGrath: When does Revenue expect to initiate enforcement activity in respect of people who do not file returns? I refer to activity regarding social welfare payments, bank accounts, salary deductions, etc.