Results 8,141-8,160 of 34,780 for speaker:Seán Fleming

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

Seán Fleming: I will be brief. Ms Feehily and her colleagues are welcome. I will raise one point because people are getting confused. There is the authorised officer, but Ms Feehily referred regularly in her speech to the High Court inspector's report.

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

Seán Fleming: Some people might not get the distinction between the two because one flowed from the other. Revenue had to go to the High Court to get orders to gain access to the documents produced by the High Court inspector. Who was the inspector? Whose report was it?

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

Seán Fleming: Why did Revenue need to go to the High Court? Was this information not forthcoming from it?

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

Seán Fleming: There was an authorised officer and then the High Court inspectors. To Ms Feehily's knowledge, would the High Court inspectors have covered much of the ground that the authorised officer did or was it a different project altogether?

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

Seán Fleming: In other words-----

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

Seán Fleming: This in-between layer probably just got a little lost in the public arena. As a layman, it looks to me as if the authorised officer did what I would call a preliminary report. I use the word "preliminary" to mean informal. The report was presented to a Minister or other person and the Minister then decided, on the basis of the information provided, that he needed to appoint High Court...

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

Seán Fleming: Why did the Revenue Commissioners seek a High Court order?

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

Seán Fleming: Of the cases held in public, was the documentation handed over subject to legal privilege?

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

Seán Fleming: I am trying to understand the situation. We had the original first report by the authorised officer. There is a suggestion that matters were not followed up. Several eminent High Court inspectors were involved and there were open court proceedings on the matter and a file was sent to the Revenue Commissioners. I got no sense of that from the documentation that was sent to me and other...

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

Seán Fleming: Yes.

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

Seán Fleming: I am caught for time but I wish to ask Ms Feehily one or two more questions. She will understand that the ten-year rule would cause public annoyance if people were to think the Revenue cannot prosecute after ten years. We regularly hear of the Department of Social Protection chasing people for money they wrongly claimed, even if they went abroad, they were followed up when they came back....

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

Seán Fleming: But we see every day in the court-----

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

Seán Fleming: That is fine. We are talking about cases of evasion and criminal activity. People are prosecuted every day in court for crimes they committed many years ago.

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

Seán Fleming: I will put it to Ms Feehily this way; for other criminal activities the ten-year rule does not necessarily apply. We see people in court for offences committed ten or 20 years ago. In some cases the crimes were committed when the individuals were juveniles but there seems to be a cut-off when it comes to prosecutions for financial misdemeanours. People might have a difficulty with the fact...

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

Seán Fleming: Am I correct in saying that if one uncovers something and it relates to a case more than ten years ago, while one might not have a power to prosecute, the Revenue has the power to make an attachment order or to send in the sheriff to collect the money and ultimately, the matter can be addressed through the estate of the person in the same way as the Department of Social Protection? While the...

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

Seán Fleming: I would expect that. To confirm what Ms Feehily said, just because Revenue cannot prosecute people does not mean it cannot collect the money, even ultimately from the estate.

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2014)

Seán Fleming: I take this opportunity to speak on the Water Services Bill 2014, but it is with no pleasure that we are here discussing this. As everybody knows, earlier last year we had the Water Services Act 2013. The Government came in here full of gusto determined to charge water rates and to set up a new State quango, having spent the previous year saying it would abolish quangos. However, it went...

Confidence in Taoiseach and Government: Motion (9 Dec 2014)

Seán Fleming: The motion before us here today states: “That Dáil Éireann reaffirms its confidence in the Taoiseach and in the Government.” The Taoiseach should enjoy his victory today when he wins this vote but he should remember it is a pyrrhic victory. It will not last long. History shows that many who feel the need to have a vote of confidence in themselves and their leaders...

Confidence in Taoiseach and Government: Motion (9 Dec 2014)

Seán Fleming: In 2012, after the establishment of the new Department, we had the biggest overrun in Government expenditure since the foundation of the State. That was exceeded last week when Supplementary Estimates of €1.184 billion had to be introduced to make up for the flawed budget of 13 months ago. We told the Minister the day that budget was introduced that the budget and Estimates process...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Dec 2014)

Seán Fleming: 126. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will make arrangements whereby the Social Welfare Appeals Office will deal with appeals regarding the recovery of overpayments especially where the member of the public is not satisfied that the approach being taking by the Department and that the Department's code of conduct is not independent of the Department and this matter should be...