Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 December 2019
71. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of open roles in the Tax Appeals Commission by functional area and position; the length time the role has remained unfilled in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51028/19]
View answerThere has been a significant increase in staffing at the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) since its establishment in March 2016, increasing from 2 Commissioners and 5 administrative staff at end 2016 to 5 Commissioners and 22 administrative staff in 2019
This increase in staffing follows in large part from an independent review of the workload and operations of the Tax Appeals Commission that I commissioned in 2018. The resulting O’Donoghue report, published with Budget 2019, recommended that the appropriate staffing complement at the TAC should be 33 persons. Sanction and funding for these posts was provided in the TAC’s 2019 budget allocation and recruitment has been ongoing throughout the year within the TAC for technical and administrative posts.
I have also appointed three new Temporary Appeal Commissioners (2.5 full-time equivalent), two of whom took up office in September, with the third due to commence in the coming weeks. Finally, legislative change was required in order to create the role and responsibilities of the Chair of the TAC, as recommended by the O’Donoghue report. The necessary legislation has now completed scrutiny in the Oireachtas and will be signed into law shortly, following which recruitment for the position can commence.
The Tax Appeals Commission has advised that the staffing vacancies within the Commission as at 3 December 2019 is presented in the following table and is reflective of the staff provisions as recommended by the O’Donoghue report:
