Written answers
Tuesday, 20 January 2015
Department of An Taoiseach
Departmental Staff Allowances
Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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159. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide in tabular form the total amount spent per annum in 2011 to 2014, inclusive, on staff subsistence payments and staff taxi payments; if his Department has been audited for tax compliance on these payments and other benefits in kind; if these processes have been revised in view of the Revenue Commissioners' concerns over practices in other State bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2488/15]
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The total amount spent per annum by my Department on subsistence payments to staff and on taxi costs from 2011 to 2014 is provided in a table:
| Year | Subsistence | Taxi |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | €27,487.01 | €41,174.93 |
| 2012 | €38,803.34* | €30,273.37* |
| 2013 | €46,802.27* | €28,609.89* |
| 2014 | €45,636.17 | €24,828.37 |
My Department has not been audited for tax compliance on these payments. However, my Department's Appropriation Account is audited annually by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
In March 2014, following a review by my Department, an unprompted voluntary disclosure was made to the Revenue Commissioners which included a liability for benefit in kind in relation to the use of taxis to and from home of €24,506 (including penalties and interest). This reflected a long-standing practice where staff are sometimes required to work outside normal office hours in order to carry out their official duties, in most cases due to Oireachtas sittings. Revenue guidelines state that benefit in kind is due on the costs of taxis from home to headquarters and vice versa. My Department has put in place revised arrangements to ensure compliance with Revenue Guidelines in respect of benefit in kind on taxi journeys to and from home.
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