Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

63. To ask the Minister for Finance the groups or persons he, or his officials, have met to discuss budget 2016 and the Finance Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39747/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will appreciate that preparation for Budget 2016 and the Finance Bill is a complex matter and it would be impractical to provide a definitive list of every single such meeting that may have taken place.

However I can advise him that in advance of Budget 2016 I met, along with Minister Howlin, as I usually do, a number of representative organisations. These were IBEC, ICTU, the IFA, the ICMSA, the Construction Industry Federation and the Community and Voluntary Pillar. The Pillar, as the Deputy will be aware, comprises seventeen separate organisations.

In addition, I met with other organisations including;

- Drinks Industry Group of Ireland

- Retail Ireland

- American Chamber of Commerce

- Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association

- Irish Road Hauliers Association

- Arts Council

- RTE Board

- National Newspapers of Ireland

- Governor Patrick Honohan, Central Bank of Ireland

- Conor O'Kelly, NTMA

- Niall Cody, Revenue Commissioners

- National Economic Dialogue

- IDA Ireland

I am advised that among the groups met by my officials relating to Budget 2016 and the Finance Bill were;

- Society of the Irish Motor Industry,

- Philip Morris International

- National Off licence Association

- Environmental Pillar

- Alcohol Action Ireland

- Argentine embassy

- Chilean Ambassador

- IBEC

- Irish Heart Foundation

- Irish Cancer Society

- Irish Charities Tax Reform group

- Screen Producers Ireland

- Linked Finance

- Irish Pro Share Association.

- Insurance Ireland

- Mr Tom Clinch

- KPMG

- PWC

- Deloitte

- Representatives of the the Community and Voluntary Pillar

- American Chamber of Commerce

- Ingersoll Rand

- AIB

- Insurance Ireland

- Irish Debt Securities Organisation

- IFS Tax Working Group

My officials would also, on an ongoing basis and as a matter of course, have met with officials of the Revenue Commissioners, other Government Departments and public bodies.

In relation to the Knowledge Development Box which was announced in the Budget and is contained in the Finance Bill, the Deputy will be aware that my Department engaged in an extensive public consultation process this year. As part of this officials met with around 100 companies, met with a number of Government entities including the Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation and received over 40 written submissions. This included roundtable discussions hosted by KPMG, Galway Chamber of Commerce, American Chamber of Commerce, IBEC (including the IBEC Pharma-Chem Group) and a conference hosted by the IRDG. As is the usual practice, these will be published on the Departments website in due course.

I would note also that in the run-up to Budget 2016 and the Finance Bill I have received to date more than 600 submissions from a wide variety of groups, representative organisations and individuals. All such submissions received are recorded and distributed as appropriate, both in my Department and in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, so that their content may be considered by the relevant officials in the context of Budget preparation.