Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1970 > Committee of Public Accounts > Interim and Final Report - Appropriation Accounts 1967 - 1968

APPENDIX 29.

STAFFING OF THE ESTATE DUTY OFFICE

Cléireach an Choiste,

Coiste um Chuntais Phoiblí,

The following is further information which was sought during my examination at the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee on 19th March, 1970.

Staffing of the Estate Duty Branch

The staffing of the departmental classes in the Estate Duty Branch in 1967 and in 1969 is given hereunder:

In 1967/68 a prolonged and detailed investigation into the organisation and staffing of the Estate Duty Branch was carried out. A previous investigation had been made in 1958 and certain additional posts were created then. It did not become apparent until 1967 that a further review was desirable. While there had in the meantime been new legislation of a very complex nature in the Estate Duty field— notably in 1965—some time necessarily elapsed before the effect of the new legislation became evident in the work load carried by the Branch.

The report of the 1967/68 investigation was examined by the Commissioners in consultation with the heads of the Estate Duty Branch and led to the creation of two new posts of Chief Examiner, three of Senior Examiner and one of Examiner. The filling of the new posts above the grade of Examiner and the creation of the new Examiner post left vacancies for five Examiners. It has not been possible to fill these vacancies because none of the serving Assistant Examiners has as yet the minimum legal qualification or length of service to perform full Examiner duties. One, however, will shortly be eligible for advancement.

It must be emphasised that, despite the creation of so many new posts, the difficulty which now exists would have arisen only to a very minor degree were it not for the fact that, in the period 1967/69, four vacancies occurred which could not have been foreseen. Two of these were caused by deaths, one by a resignation to take up outside employment and one by an appointment to a post in the Revenue Solicitor’s Office as a result of a competition.

The difficulty has been met by temporarily increasing the number of Assistant Examiner posts from ten to fifteen. While this is unsatisfactory inasmuch as the existing Examiners will bear an additional burden until a sufficient number of Assistant Examiners become qualified, it means that, once the position has been rectified, a shortage of officers eligible for promotion is extremely unlikely at any time in the foreseeable future.

Oifigeach Cuntasaíochta,

Oifig na gCoimisinéirí Ioncaim.

27 Aibreán, 1970.