Vol. 417 No. 3
47 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Finance if he will extend the recent concession on RSI numbers which was made to farmers, to assistant examiners in the Department of Education certificate examinations since they also must fill in RSI number on their claim form which they find to be a cumbersome layer of bureaucracy; and if not, the reason therefor.
The tax clearance scheme which is being applied gradually to livestock headage grants in disadvantaged areas relates to public grants and subsidies. The payments by the Department of Education to assistant examiners are not grants or subsidies and therefore these tax clearance procedures do not apply.
I have been informed by the Department of Education that the payments to assistant examiners are for services. There is a second tax clearance scheme which applies to public sector contracts including contracts for services. Under this scheme companies or individuals applying for public sector contracts valued at £5,000 or over must produce a current tax clearance certificate from the Revenue Commissioners before the contract is awarded. However, the Department of Education have indicated that no assistant examiner has been paid £5,000 or more. It follows, therefore, that none of these examiners comes within the terms of the scheme.
The Department of Education have indicated that an RSI number for each examiner is needed by them, as this number is used by the Department as a reference number under which all data about payments, PAYE/PRSI deductions, and personal data such as name, address, date of birth, experience, etc., are stored. The RSI number is required by the Department therefore to reference this information, and is essential if PAYE and PRSI contributions are to be deducted at the correct rate applicable to each individual examiner.
