Results 9,701-9,720 of 36,253 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: I note from the Estimates that €1 million was recouped from the banking sector in 2014, but the Minister said €4.3 was spent on the banking sector in 2014. The subhead covers consultancy and other services, which could include legal services. What were the main items? I am not asking the Minister to tell me about every cent. Was there consultancy? Was there a large...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Can we conclude that the remainder, €2.6 million, was related to consultancy?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: The actual outturn for 2014 was €1.7 million.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Under the heading the outturn is €1.7 million, so there were no consultants appointed over 2014. Is that correct? Was it all absorbed?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Are the contracts all small rather than substantial?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: It is a question of what is substantial these days. By comparison with the €6.5 million Estimate, the outturn is low. I have a general question. Why are we addressing the Estimates later this year than in previous years? One big advantage of moving the budgetary cycle to October was that we would have Estimates before the commencement of expenditure. Last year we dealt with the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: We do not have the outturn for the Estimates for 2014 among these documents. Is there a reason for that?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. Under this heading in the Estimate for this year, for which the Minister has a figure of €5.6 million, does that include a contract for somebody to review the implementation of the property tax?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Is the Minister saying that it will be done in-house?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Can the Minister explain that to the committee? Is this person a civil servant? I am not familiar with him. Why would there be a issue over a fee?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: I presume there will not be a fee for this work?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: No. I understand that. Excuse my ignorance on this, if there was a fee, which the Minister has not ruled out, how could the Department award a contract that would have a fee, regardless of the value involved, without going to public tender, given that it would be a public contract if there was a fee involved?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: I expect he will not address the issue I have with the property tax, which is that it should be scrapped - and we are committed to doing that - but I will await his report.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: I look forward to noting his terms of reference or whether there are any terms of reference, given the loose nature of the way the Minister has employed him.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: We are scrapping the water charges and the property tax, as the Minister will be glad to hear.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: The real opinion on this tax will given in the next general election and people will have a choice as to whether to vote for parties that want to get rid of it, regardless of what Dr. Thornhill does in his desktop review, for which he may or may not be paid a fee, depending on the Minister's chats with him.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: What the Minister has brought in is a housing tax.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. To clarify this matter, the Estimate does not include the review on the property tax because it is not a clear whether a fee will be charged by Mr. Thornhill. Does the Minister have a conclusion date for that work?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: There does not seem to be any additional money for a budgeting costing service in the documentation provided, and I thank the Minister's officials for putting forward the documentation. We raised this issue during Oral Questions to the Minister's Department. We have continuously raised it for a number of years and the Minister committed to examining the idea.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Estimates for Public Services 2015
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) (18 Feb 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Will it have an impact in terms of the Estimates for 2015? Will there be an enhanced provision for it? We have the basic provision of costing individual measures with the Department on the Minister's say-so. Does he consider there could be an enhanced provision for this, which could have an impact on the Estimates for 2015?