Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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176. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of requests received from the Tax Appeals Commission for permission to hire additional staff in 2016, 2017 and to date in 2018; if each request for additional staff was approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30864/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) was established in March 2016 as part of the reform of the tax appeals system introduced under the Finance (Tax Appeals) Act 2015. The Commission was set up as an independent body with its own vote and Accounting Officer and is a body under the aegis of the Department of Finance.

Significant additional resources have been applied to the TAC since its inception with the staffing levels more than doubling over its first two years of operation. Where additional resources have been sought to date, my Department have engaged with each request received. Indeed the budget for the TAC has almost quadrupled between 2014 and 2018 despite the fact that in 2016 and 2017 the TAC did not spend its full budget allocation.

The following information relates to staffing requests received from the TAC.

In June 2016 the TAC proposed the re-engagement of two former Commissioners on a temporary basis. This was followed in July 2016 by a request to recruit two additional temporary clerical staff. The re-engagement of the former Commissioners was not considered to be in keeping with the mandate of openness and transparency, so in July 2016 sanction was instead given for the appointment of 5 temporary Appeal Commissioners, to be appointed by a competitive process, and 2 full-time clerical staff.

An amended request was received from the TAC in August 2016 for 4 clerical staff (to include the 2 clerical staff sanctioned in July), and this was sanctioned in August 2016.

 In February 2017, following the return to D/Finance of an experienced Principal Officer on secondment to assist with the set-up of the TAC, the TAC requested the secondment of another experienced Principal Officer from my Department. The position was filled by the appointment of a Principal Officer on secondment from the Department of Finance in May 2017.

 In August 2017 a request was made by the TAC for 2 additional tax qualified staff at Assistant Principal level to act as case managers and this request was sanctioned. In parallel to commencing the recruitment process via the Public Appointments Service (PAS) the TAC requested that my Department consider filling some of these positions by sending further staff to the TAC on secondment. This was not possible as my Department has a limited number of staff with the requisite qualifications/skills and experience and is also dealing with staffing challenges caused by an annual turnover rate of over 23% (including resignations, retirements and staff that have moved to other Departments through promotions etc.). My officials offered assistance with the process of recruitment via PAS, including the provision of interview board members if required. The assistance of my Department's HR manager to provide advice and guidance has also been offered to the TAC, but the TAC to date have not availed of this offer.

The TAC's 2018 Estimates were submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) in September 2017, noting that the required additional staffing from January 2018 would be 2 Assistant Principal case managers (the 2 case managers requested in August for which recruitment had commenced), 1 Assistant Principal, 1 Higher Executive Officer and 1 temporary Clerical Officer.

 This request was sanctioned, and my Department facilitated the transfer of an experienced Higher Executive Officer on secondment to the TAC in October 2017. I understand that the 2 Assistant Principal case managers were appointed in January 2018.

In February 2018, the Accounting Officer of the Commission submitted a request to my Department for significant additional resources to meet the increased caseload of the Commission, including an additional 10 administrative staff. The addition of these resources would involve an effective doubling of the Commission’s budget for 2018 from €1.626 million to an estimated €3.226 million which includes extra resources for ICT and new office space.

 Due to the substantial increase in public resources now being sought by the TAC, my officials requested further information to support the resource request to ensure that the proposed balance of administrative staff and the existing Commissioners would be effective in addressing that workload. The TAC informed my Department in early March of this year that it had commenced commissioning a review of its resources and operations. I am awaiting receipt of this report and, in the meantime, I have commissioned an independent reviewer with significant experience of civil service bodies and operations to assess the current position and advise how best to address the TAC's resource needs. This review has been expedited in order that resourcing decisions, based on a sound business case for the resolution of the current backlog, can be made as soon as possible.