Vol. 217 No. 11
I move:
That a sum not exceeding £22,650 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1966, for certain Miscellaneous Expenses, including certain Grants-in-Aid.
Could the Minister find time to give us a thumbnail sketch of what these miscellaneous expenses are?
They are four times greater than the cost of the Secret Service.
The items I find here include Bord na gCon, buying the copyright of the National Anthem, the National Theatre Society, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Property Values Arbitrations and Appeals.
How does Bord na gCon get into Miscellaneous Expenses?
It is to repay turnover tax collected from them. There was a statutory exemption subsequent to the passing of the 1963 Finance Act under which Bord na gCon and the Racing Board were covered. Subsequently they were relieved of the obligation to pay turnover tax. I understand that this provision was to repay turnover tax in the year or two prior to the relief being given.
Would the Minister inform us how much was given to the National Theatre Society and give us information about the reorganisation of the society which took place during the Christmas Recess under which a large number of people were given shares in this Society?
I will be moving a Supplementary Estimate next that will cover that.
