John Bruton
Question:130 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the identity of the members of staff of his Department who are members of the tax strategy group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1407/00]
Written Answers. - Tax Strategy Group.
John Bruton
Question:131 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the reason staff in his Department are represented on the tax strategy group; the number of person hours spent by them on group matters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1406/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 131 together.
The tax strategy group – TSG – was set up in 1993 with the purpose of examining tax issues in the run up to each year's budget and Finance Bill. The group's remit was subsequently extended to cover social welfare issues, particularly in the context of the interaction between the tax and social welfare systems.
The terms of reference of the group are: to examine and develop proposals for measures in the areas of taxation, PRSI and levies, for the budget and Finance Bill within agreed Government parameters for the overall budget position and in the context of the framework of a medium term and longer term tax strategy set out in the Government's programme, and to examine the strategic approach for a general social welfare package and to assess the interaction of income tax-PRSI-levies proposals with social welfare proposals including child income support, and in particular the impact of this interaction on the labour market and income distribution.
The group is chaired by my Department at second secretary level and is made up of representatives of the Department of Finance, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of the Taoiseach, the Office of the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs at official, adviser and programme manager level as follows:
|
Name |
Department/Office |
|
Mr. Michael G. Tutty (Chairman) |
Department of Finance |
|
Mr. Donal McNally |
Department of Finance |
|
Mr. Jim McCaffrey |
Department of Finance |
|
Mr. Dermot Quigley |
Office of the Revenue Commissioners |
|
Mr. Michael O'Grady |
Office of the Revenue Commissioners |
|
Dr. Martin Mansergh |
Department of the Taoiseach |
|
Mr. Gerry Hickey |
Department of the Taoiseach |
|
Mr. Dermot McCarthy |
Department of the Taoiseach |
|
Dr. Maurice Roche |
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
|
Ms Katherine Bulbulia |
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
|
Mr. Paul Haran |
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
|
Mr. Mel Cousins |
Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs |
|
Mr. Tom Mulherin |
Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs |
|
Ms Anne McManus |
Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs |
The work of the TSG begins a number of months before the budget each year with the selection of the issues to be considered and proceeds with a weekly meeting of the group to consider papers prepared on these issues. While the deliberations of the group are purely advisory, they provide a very useful input into the budgetary process. The officials of my Department who are members of the group are also engaged in their day to day role of advising me on the wide range of mainly budgetary matters. It is not possible to distinguish between or quantify the time spent on these and TSG matters but it would represent a significant part of the time of the staff concerned in the run up to the budget.
The papers prepared for the TSG in 1998 and 1999 have, with limited exceptions, been published under the Freedom of Information Act and are available on the Department's website.