Latest news with #OireachtasFinanceCommittee
Irish Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Number of ministers who owe State thousands of euro due to errors in pension deductions is revealed
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers confirmed the figure as he revealed the wider issue of pension errors first came to the attention of the office that handles payments eight years ago. Mr Chambers announced earlier this month that around 13,000 current and former civil servants, and ministers, are to have their pension deductions assessed for possible anomalies. He said at the time that 'serious systemic operational issues' were identified at the National Shared Services Office (NSSO), which would result in some civil servants – including current ministers – having to pay back thousands of euro. Yesterday, he told the Oireachtas Finance Committee that one individual raised a query about their pension entitlement as far back as 2017. A determination was made at that time, but it took the NSSO until last July to ask if the approach that was decided following that query in 2017 should apply to a broader group. He said the gap between the NSSO examining this, and the full scale of the errors coming to light 'is a concern and that is why the audit is taking place'. The terms of reference for an external audit will be agreed next week and its work is expected to be completed in a couple of months. Mr Chambers said he was told of the full scope of pension errors in April, and it 'expanded in number throughout the month of May'. He was responding to Labour Party TD Ged Nash, who said there was a 'seven-year gap between the issue first coming to the attention of the NSSO and somebody deciding in the NSSO that this is a bigger issue that warrants further investigation'. The minister said the issue 'crystallised' after the Revenue Commissioners raised concerns with the NSSO last year. This related to Chargeable Excess Tax – which only applies to pension pots worth more than €2m. Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty said this was a 'whopper of a pension' and asked: 'Of these individuals who were so overpaid – these individuals would be accounting officers for their departments – did any of them notify the department that they got this bonanza or did all of them stay schtum?' The minister replied: 'I am not aware of that.' Mr Chambers said the issues are 'unacceptable' and 'that is why we need a full external audit'.
Irish Independent
11-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Central Bank ‘cannot impose sanctions on Israel', Oireachtas committee to be told over approval of Israeli bonds
Governor Gabriel Makhlouf is to tell the Oireachtas Finance Committee that it is up to international bodies including the UN and the EU to respond to breaches of international law by Israel, and to determine if sanctions are necessary. 'The Central Bank cannot impose sanctions on Israel – for example by refusing to approve the Israeli bond prospectus – in circumstances where the EU has not imposed any such sanctions itself,' he will tell TDs and Senators. The Committee is to question the Central Bank over its role in approving a prospectus – a legal document that bond issuers are required to prepare. To be sold in the EU, bonds from non-EU countries must have their bond prospectus approved by an EU country. Israel traditionally had its European bond prospectuses approved in the UK, but turned to the Central Bank in Ireland for authorisations after Brexit. In his opening statement to the Finance Committee, Mr Makhlouf will say he is 'absolutely appalled by the horrific loss of life and destruction we are seeing in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.' But he says the EU is responsible for trade policy: 'The Central Bank cannot impose sanctions on Israel – for example by refusing to approve the Israeli bond prospectus – in circumstances where the EU has not imposed any such sanctions itself,' he says, 'Unlike the EU sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, the EU has not, at this time, adopted sanctions against the State of Israel. The Central Bank would of course implement any sanctions adopted by the EU that are applicable to the Central Bank's functions, as we have with Russia,' he says. He will dismiss opposition party claims that the Central Bank could refuse to approve the Israeli bond prospectus on the basis the International Court of Justice ruling that Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is unlawful. 'This is incorrect,' his opening statement will say. 'The Central Bank cannot decide to impose sanctions for breaches or alleged breaches of international law.' The Bank 'must carry out the statutory tasks and functions' assigned to it, he will say. 'We have to work within the law and the prospectus issued by the State of Israel meets the standards of completeness, consistency and comprehensibility required by the law. We will continue to carefully and comprehensively discharge our obligations under the EU Prospectus Regulation.'
Irish Examiner
11-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Central Bank 'cannot impose sanctions' on Israel, Oireachtas committee to hear
The head of the Central Bank is to tell politicians that it cannot refuse to approve the sale of Israeli war bonds despite mounting pressure to do so. Gabriel Makhlouf will say that the Central Bank is required to approve a prospectus where it meets the standards of completeness, consistency, and comprehensibility under the legislation. "Our legal obligations are clear and we do not need guidance to follow them," he is due to tell the Oireachtas Finance Committee on Wednesday. "The law is also clear that, by approving a prospectus, the Central Bank does not endorse the issuer and does not endorse the securities. "Rather, it means the Central Bank is satisfied that the issuer has disclosed the required information, in the required manner, to potential purchasers of the securities, so that investors can make their own informed investment decision." Mr Makhlouf will say that claims that the Central Bank could refuse to approve the Israeli bond prospectus on the basis of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provisional rulings in the ongoing South Africa case is "incorrect". "The Central Bank cannot decide to impose sanctions for breaches or alleged breaches of international law," he is expected to tell the committee. Meanwhile, the Government will not be supporting a cross-party motion demanding the Central Bank end the facilitation of Israeli war bonds and will instead table its own counter motion. Calls to provide Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs with a free vote on a motion supported by four opposition parties have also been ignored by the coalition parties ahead of a Dáil debate on Wednesday. The Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, Labour, and People Before Profit-Solidarity have united behind the motion that demands that the Government enact emergency legislation to explicitly force the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of Israel Bonds. It also calls on the coalition to advise the bank that "by acting as the enabling cog in Israel's fund-raising machine in the EU it is putting the State at risk of a charge of complicity in genocide". Read More Irish Medical Organisation joins calls for Government to help get aid to people in Gaza
Irish Independent
26-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
The Irish Independent's View: It's up to Housing Minister James Browne to sort out scarcity of zoned land
Now that he is unshackled from the doomed role, he is free to opine on the housing dilemma. Mr McDonagh introduced 'Felipe' as an acronym for the solution to the biggest problem facing Ireland. 'F' stands for finance being available for developers to build; 'E' is for expertise in trades and the necessity to address the shortage of carpenters, plumbers and electricians; 'L' represents the availability of land for housing; 'I' is the infrastructure to service the zoned land; 'P is for the planning system, shortening the time taken to get building and reducing the amount of developments being appealed to An Bord Pleanála and then judicially reviewed, which also costs money; and finally, 'E' is engineering and availing of modern methods of building to enhance construction productivity. 'To me, if you solve those six issues, you have gone a long way towards trying to help resolve the situation,' Mr McDonagh told the Oireachtas Finance Committee last week. Easier said than done. But then this cohort of parties in Government has had the best part of a decade to address much of the 'Felipe' framework. After saying goodbye to the Troika, Fine Gael told us it wanted to keep the recovery going. Fianna Fáil joined them loosely in partnership in 2016, before a formal marriage in 2020. Now the two Civil War parties have ditched the Green Party and replaced them with the Independents. It's been evident throughout this period that fixing society and providing housing was equally as important as repairing the economy. The first step in solving any problem is recognising there is one. We're a long way past that stage now and yet we still don't seem to have moved into the solutions phase. Instead, the problem is still being discussed. The latest contribution to the debate has been the 'L' in 'Felipe' being picked up on and teased out. Three of the country's biggest home builders say that the limited availability of residentially zoned land for housing is the key driver of property inflation. Supply and demand means that prices are being sent rocketing by a chronic shortage of homes to buy at a time of strong demand, according to a KPMG report. The industry says the lack of zoned land to meet demand is driving up prices, according to the report. Rather than leaving it to local councils, Housing Minister James Browne is promising to step in and zone more land, particularly in areas near critical infrastructure like road, public transport, electricity and water services. It can't come soon enough. However, Mr Browne made a hames of the appointment of the housing tsar. Now the minister will just have to clean up the mess himself, rather than sub-contracting the job out.
