Written answers
Thursday, 16 July 2015
Department of Finance
Information and Communications Technology
Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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205. To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department or agencies under the authority of his Department have performed an assessment of the potential savings to be accrued if current paper-based application processes by members of the public were replaced with a fully online application system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30140/15]
Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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My Department currently does not administer any schemes that require members of the public to submit applications. Certain bodies under the aegis of my Department do operate such schemes and the information sought by the deputy is contained in the following table.
| Body | Does the body currently have any paper based application processes used by members of the public | Has assessment has been performed of the potential savings to be accrued from a switch to a fully on-line system | For information purposes could you please indicate if your body already operated a fully on-line application system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appeals Commissioner | Yes | No | No |
| Credit Reviewer Office | The CRO forms can be downloaded from the CRO website and posted into the CRO | No | No |
| Central Bank of Ireland | The Central Bank has a paper-based application system for the public in relation to the purchase of collector coins. Plans are in place to migrate this process to an on-line platform. Furthermore proceeds for the exchange of IR£ (over £100), are paid into a nominated bank account, details of which must be supplied on a paper based form and accompanied by photographic identification. This is to facilitate the verification/authentication process by the Central Bank. This includes obtaining an individual's signature. | No | No |
| Financial Services Ombudsman | The Financial Services Ombudsman's Bureau does have a paper based application process used by members of the public. | No | The Financial Services Ombudsman has a fully operational on line application process. Where possible the Ombudsman always corresponds with the parties to a dispute in electronic format. |
| Investors Compensation Company Limited | The Investor Compensation Company Limited (ICCL) have only one paper based process available to the public, specifically to investors of failed investment firms, seeking to apply for compensation in accordance with the Investor Compensation Act, 1998. | ICCL has assessed whether potential savings could be made from implementing an electronic application process. ICCL experience of the frequency of failures and the volume of claims arising would indicate that the investment required to deliver a secure, effective and economic user-friendly on-line claims system would probably not lead to a saving in the short to medium term in the absence of the failure of a systemic investment firm or multiple mid-sized firms, similar to CHC. Another difficulty identified, albeit not a barrier to implementation, is the absence of high-speed broadband infrastructure and access throughout the country, whereby not all investors may have the required bandwidth to submit scanned electronic supporting documentation for their claim, which in some cases, runs to hundreds of pages. | No |
| National Treasury Management Agency | Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme (Part 2). In July 2013 the Government approved the establishment of a new Scheme to compensate former patients of Dr Neary (Consultant Obstetrician) who underwent unnecessary bilateral oophorectomies in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. In order to qualify for redress the applicants must have undergone a bilateral oophorectomy, or the removal of a remaining single functioning ovary, performed when they were aged 40 years or over. The operation must also have rendered the applicant immediately menopausal and must have been medically unwarranted. The State Claims Agency was requested by the Minister for Health to draft and administer the Scheme. Eligible Liabilities Guarantee Scheme. In December 2009 the Government introduced a new guarantee scheme to follow the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme 2008 to provide for the guarantee of bank liabilities beyond 29 September 2010 - the Credit Institutions (Eligible Liabilities Guarantee) Scheme 2009 (ELG Scheme). The Minister for Finance appointed the NTMA as the ELG Scheme Operator. The ELG Scheme provided for an unconditional and irrevocable State guarantee for certain eligible liabilities (including deposits) of up to five years maturity issued by participating institutions to the extent that they are not covered by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme operated by the Central Bank of Ireland. These liabilities must have been incurred by participating institutions between the date of their joining the Scheme and the discontinuation of the Scheme. The ELG Scheme was discontinued effective from midnight on 28 March 2013. Any liabilities guaranteed under the ELG Scheme up to 28 March 2013 remain guaranteed until their maturities. Following the liquidation of IBRC, liabilities covered under the ELG scheme were and can be claimed from the NTMA as Scheme Operator. State Savings State Savings is the brand name applied by the NTMA to the range of Irish Government savings products offered to personal savers. An Post acts as an agent of the NTMA in relation to the sale and administration of State Savings products (except Prize Bonds). The Prize Bond Company (a joint venture between An Post and the Irish financial services company Fexco) operates the Prize Bond Scheme on behalf of the NTMA. As well as purchases through the post office network, Prize Bonds can currently be purchased online by registered customers. The NTMA is in discussions with An Post in relation to extending the online application process to all other State Savings products | No | No |
| Revenue Commissioners | Yes. While a significant amount of transactions between Revenue and its customers are done online, some transactions are still done on paper. Furthermore, only certain business customers are obliged by law to use our online services and so filing of paper self-employed tax returns, for example, is still a small but reducing number. | Significant savings could be accrued if customers migrated to Revenue's online services but the potential savings have not been fully assessed for all the various online services that the Revenue provides. However, Revenue has supplied an indicative example of potential cost savings in relation to one particular area of its business, namely the processing of tax clearance applications. Revenue plans to introduce an electronic tax clearance regime early in 2016 to replace the current system which is partly online and partly paper based. Instead of issuing around 200,000 paper tax clearance certificates annually, these will be available for viewing online only. Revenue estimates that this will generate stationery, printing and postage savings of about €115,000 per annum. | As explained elsewhere, Revenue has a significant number of online services available for its customers including: - Revenue Online Service (ROS) - PAYE Anytime - Annual Tax Return for PAYE Taxpayer (eForm 12) - Local Property Tax (LPT) - Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) - DIRT First Time Buyer's Initiative - Pensions: Person Funds Threshold (PFT) - MyEnquiriesa secure enquiry facility - Tax Clearance (online application) The vast majority of business customers are required to do their business using the Revenue Online System (ROS). Recent initiatives such as the Home Renovation Scheme (HRI) and DIRT First Time Buyer's Initiative operate exclusively on an online basis. In addition, approximately 77% of 2013 Local Property Tax returns were filed online and Revenue also offered a telephone filing facility for customers unable to file their returns online. Revenue has made a significant investment in, and is currently making significant improvements to, their online service offerings, particularly for PAYE taxpayers, to make it even easier for them to do their business online. Revenue is actively encouraging customers to use their online services in preference to other channels as this is the quickest, most secure and most efficient way for customers to do their business. The increasing investment and emphasis on Revenue's online offerings is in line with the Government's Public Service ICT Strategy of digital first to deliver improved efficiencies and better value for taxpayers as well as providing more user centred and innovative services for customers. |
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