JOINT COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE debate -
Wednesday, 5 Nov 2003

Vol. 1 No. 19

Business of Joint Committee.

Chairman

The first two items on the agenda are the minutes of the previous meeting and correspondence, but I propose to defer both until the next meeting as the principal purpose of today's meeting is to deal with the presentation concerning the future of section 48(1) tax relief in respect of the film industry.

A draft timetable has been circulated for the benefit of the committee and I would like agreement on that timetable because we want some structure to the questions and answers session in the course of the day. It has been drafted in such a way as to be fair to everybody on the committee, and there is an opportunity for open discussion at the end of each presentation.

Deputy R. Bruton

I understood we had invited the Revenue Commissioners to attend but I do not see them listed.

Chairman

We invited the Department of Finance and I understand it will bring officials from Revenue if necessary.

Deputy R. Bruton

I made a specific request at the last meeting, with which I thought the committee concurred, that the Revenue Commissioners should be invited, and not just as an adjunct to the Department of Finance.

Chairman

I take the Deputy's point but I understand that the Department of Finance is dealing with the issue as the main Department involved, and I an not sure whether it will bring somebody from the Revenue Commissioners.

Deputy R. Bruton

I do not want to delay the meeting but I was very clear in what I said at the last meeting, and I think it was agreed that the Revenue Commissioners would have access to analytical information about the background and impact of these tax reliefs which the committee should have the opportunity to hear. I specifically asked that they would be here so that we could hear things that they alone would have knowledge of. We should not be depending on the Department of Finance to act as a conduit for a body that is accountable to this committee.

Chairman

The Department has said it will bring people from the Revenue Commissioners to answer questions. I take the Deputy's point, and if we are not satisfied when we get to that part of the meeting we will take a decision then on what to do. I hope it will work out satisfactorily and that there will be people from the Revenue Commissioners with the representatives of the Department of Finance.

Is the timetable agreed? Agreed.