Written Answers. - Parliamentary Debates - Houses of the Oireachtas

[Deputy Michael Noonan.]
Questions— 14 February 2012. Written Answers
down by the actions of Revenue enforcement teams. This campaign is ongoing and Revenue
is in the process of seizing illicit product and closing down a further number of unlicensed or
otherwise illegal retail outlets.
The Finance Bill 2012 proposes to enhance the supervision and control of the mineral oils
supply chain by requiring that, in future, any person dealing in marked mineral oils will have
to be licensed by the Revenue Commissioners to do so. It is envisaged that this important
change will be complemented by amendments to the Mineral Oil Tax Regulations that will lay
down new requirements for the recording and reporting of transactions by mineral oil traders.
In 2011 nine oil laundries and 327,000 litres of laundered fuel were seized, together with nine
oil tankers and twenty-nine other vehicles. Sixteen persons were arrested in the course of these
operations and files have been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who has to date
issued directions to prosecute on indictment in respect of two of the cases. In addition to this
a further 718,181 litres of illicit mineral oil has been seized, the large majority from retail
outlets or in the course of delivery to such outlets. To date in 2012, a total of 53,530 litres of
Mineral Oil has been seized from retail outlets.
The Revenue Commissioners would advise the public to purchase their diesel from known
branded outlets, and where they have any concerns or suspicions about a particular outlet to
report these to Revenue or the Irish Petrol Retailers Association, which represents the majority
of legitimate retail outlets in the State, and who are working closely with the Revenue Commissioners
to counteract the threat posed by the sale and distribution of illicit mineral oil.
Bank Guarantee Scheme
185. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which he understands
contractual and non-contractual bonuses continue to be paid by institutions covered by
the eligible liabilities guarantee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8481/12]
Minister for Finance (Deputy Michael Noonan): I refer the Deputy to my reply (ref: 41005/11
of 11 January 2012) on this subject when he last raised this issue. The respective operating
agreements with the covered institutions, which underpin the State’s investments, contain prohibitions
on the payment of bonuses save in exceptional circumstances such as meeting obligations
on foot of a court order.
As has been the practice to date with pre-existing contractual rights, the legal advice that
continues to be available is that such rights prevail and, as the Deputy will appreciate, with the
passage of time such entitlements become less material in view of the prohibitions described
above.
State Savings Products
186. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm the overall
amount of money currently managed by the National Treasury Management Agency through
the various State savings products; if he will provide a breakdown of the overall amount by the
type of product, savings bonds, savings certificates, national solidarity bond and so on; the way
the money is managed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8483/12]
Minister for Finance (Deputy Michael Noonan): I am advised by the National Treasury
Management Agency (NTMA) that at end-2011 the amount of State Savings was €14 billion
which represented 12% of the national debt of €119 billion. The breakdown of State Savings
by product at end-December 2011 was as follows:
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