|
|
|
|
IMEACHTAÍ AN CHOISTE.THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE.Dé Céadaoin, 6 Aibreán, 1960.Wednesday, 6th April, 1960.1. The Committee met at 11 a.m. 2. Members Present. The following Members were present:— Deputy Cosgrave (in the Chair), Deputies Booth, Desmond, Jones, Thaddeus Lynch, Moloney and Sheldon. 3. Report of Committee. The Chairman brought forward a Draft Report for consideration. (i) Paragraphs 1 and 2 agreed to. (ii) Paragraph 3. Paragraph read as follows: “Lands. 3. The Committee notes that it has been decided to clarify by legislation the legal position relating to the responsibility of the Land Commission for the cleaning of drains although no longer in possession of the lands.” Amendment proposed (Deputy Sheldon): “In line 3, to delete ‘although’ and substitute ‘when the Land Commission is’.” Amendment agreed to. Paragraph, as amended, agreed to. (iii) Paragraphs 4 and 5 agreed to. (iv) Paragraph 6. Paragraph read as follows: “1957-58 Accounts. 6. The Committee will await further information on the matter referred to in paragraph 16 of its report dated 2nd July, 1959.” Amendment proposed (Deputy Jones): “In line 1, to delete ‘will await’ and substitute ‘still awaits’.” Amendment agreed to. Paragraph, as amended, agreed to. (v) Paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 agreed to. (vi) Paragraph 10. Paragraph read as follows: “Posts and Telegraphs. 10. The Committee is pleased to note that the Minister has received assurances, which he considers satisfactory, that action already taken to ensure full enforcement of the system of control over dutiable parcels at the Dublin Parcels Office provides adequate safeguards against a recurrence of fraud of the kind in question, and that the general system of control affords sufficient protection against other possible dishonest activities there.” Amendment proposed (Deputy Jones): “In line 5, to insert before ‘that’ the words ‘that the Minister is satisfied’.” Amendment agreed to. Paragraph, as amended, agreed to. (vii) Paragraph 11 agreed to. (viii) Paragraph 12. Paragraph read as follows: “General. 12. The Committee finds it necessary to emphasise the importance of clearness, precision and consistency in the Explanatory Notes appended to Appropriation Accounts. Accounting Officers vary considerably in the fullness of the explanations of the causes of variation between Estimates and Expenditure. In some cases the Notes give virtually no additional information. It is hoped that this will be avoided in future, and that the explanations will be framed in sufficient detail to cover the significant facts of each case.” Amendment proposed (Deputy Moloney): “In line 6, to delete ‘hoped’ and substitute ‘expected’.” Amendment agreed to. Amendment proposed (Deputy Sheldon): “In line 6, to delete ‘this will be avoided’ and, in line 7, to delete ‘and that’.” Amendment agreed to. Paragraph, as amended, agreed to. (ix) Paragraph 13. Paragraph read as follows: “Office of the Revenue Commissioners. 13. In paragraph 8 of its report dated 2nd July, 1959 the Committee referred to the statement of outstanding taxes which is included in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, and expressed its apprehension lest the magnitude of the sums shown as outstanding should convey an erroneous impression in regard to the collection of revenue. It suggested that, in order to minimise the risk of misunderstanding, the statement should be accompanied by estimates of the amounts which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, would prove to be collectible. The Committee notes from the report relating to the Accounts for 1958-59 that of the sum of approximately £13 million for outstanding tax assessments the amount which will be found to be collectible is unlikely to exceed £3¼ million. There has been some confusion in interpreting these figures resulting in £13 million being regarded as taxes in arrear, whereas, as indicated above, about £10 million of this sum will not ultimately be payable. It seems that the difficulty is caused by the relatively large amounts included in the outstanding balance in respect of protective assessments and assessments under appeal in which the final liability has not been determined. The Committee considers that this might be overcome by emphasising the arbitrary nature of the bulk of the assessments not disposed of by the end of the year.” Amendment proposed (Deputy Booth): To add, at the end of the paragraph, the following words: “In order to reduce still further the possibility of any misunderstanding of the situation necessarily created by protective assessments the Committee suggests that the Revenue Commissioners should in future refer to ‘the amounts which will eventually be established to be payable’ and not to ‘the amounts which will prove to be collectible’.” Amendment agreed Paragraph, as amended, agreed to. (x) Paragraphs 14 to 23, inclusive, agreed to. Draft Report, as amended, agreed to. Ordered: To report to the Dáil accordingly. 4. Conclusion of Business. The Committee concluded its business at 11.25 a.m. |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
