Dermot Ahern
Question:85 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance the interest earned in 1995 on moneys collected by each Revenue Sheriff; and the way in which this interest has been disbursed. [6534/96]
Written Answers. - 1995 Interest Earnings.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that interest earned on moneys in the hands of sheriffs pending transmission to the Collector-General accrues to the benefit of the sheriff. The sheriff is not required to provide particulars of this interest in the monthly return he makes to the Collector-General and, consequently, statistics of the amount of the interest are not available to Revenue.
The background is that sheriffs have been permitted to retain interest on short-term deposits, as is the norm in financial transactions between solicitor and client. In effect, this interest has been a major source of their income. The basic fees paid to the sheriffs were set in 1926 and the sheriff operation would have become non-viable if they had not been permitted to supplement their income with such interest to defray the substantial costs they incur. A review of the statutory fees is in train and has made substantial progress. I hope to make recommendations to the Minister for Justice shortly for revised scales of fees. When these fees have been improved to a realistic level, sheriffs will no longer be permitted to retain interest on amounts held pending transmission to the Revenue Commissioners.