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THE REVENUE COMMISSIONERS has spent €67,000 on the local property tax helpline, which is administered by an outside company, in the first quarter of this year.
Figures disclosed by the Minister for Finance in answer to a recent parliamentary question indicate that the cost for the delivery of service by Abtran was €67,000 in the first three months of this year.
The cost is calculated on the volume of calls handled while the individual cost of a call to the helpline is dependent on the individuals’ phone network as well as the type of phone package they have with their operator, according to Noonan.
As part of its agreement with Revenue, Abtran is tasked with helping people understand and complete the property tax form as well as navigate the online system for filing their return.
Abtran was mired in controversy recently when it emerged that it had to suspend a worker suspected of asking callers for their credit card details unnecessarily and attempting inappropriate and potentially fradulent transactions.
The Cork-based company said that 11 callers’ card details had been taken unnecessarily but Revenue insisted at the time that nobody had suffered a loss as a result of the incident.
This was a point was repeated by Noonan in his answer to the parliamentary question posed by independent TD Richard Boyd-Barrett and he said that as gardaí are investigating the incident it would be inappropriate for him to comment further.
“Revenue would like to reassure people that payment of tax by either credit or debit card is completely secure and that in the unlikely event of any illegal access, the card owner will not suffer any loss,” Noonan added.
Have you used the local property tax helpline? What has been your experience of the service? Let us know in the comments.
You are putting a ton of pressure on teenagers to be successful for one exam. Years of hard work could be messed up if they have a bad day. Show us where else we do this? how many teenagers have committed or attempted suicide due to this exam?
the exam needs a reform, the whole education system needs a reform – 13 years of Irish and most people can’t speak a few words, never mind holding a conversation.
@Jim: Completely correct, the points system comes from a time when not a lot of people studied at 3rd level and demand was low. It doesn’t serve the needs of a 21st century education system where most school leavers continue to university.
@Bat Boy: the opposite is the case. There was no points system in the period up to the CAO. It was introduced precisely to ration demand objectively unlike what was already developing viz. an old boys network.
@Jim: My irish teacher in school was a Brother and obviously thought us religion also .. neatless to say i haven’t a bog about either
@Trent: He teach you English too?
@ecrowley ecrowley: Obviously not troll
@Brendan Greene: That’s really interesting, I didn’t know this and thanks for pointing it out.
Whilst my facts might be incorrect, I think my point still stands, the current system doesn’t work,The education system is too rote focused and it is an unequal system.
The swiss system works quite well. Anyone who passes matura (swiss LC) can study (almost) anything they want. Grades are not relevant. First term in uni, classes are massive, but those that dont put in the work are quickly found out and normal class sizes are achieved within the first couple of terms. The only downfall in this system and where ireland is actually better, is that there is no mature learning. No matura, no 3rd level.
@Jim: is maith liom cupán tae
@Jim: the burden of using Irish falls on us everyday folk but we choose not to.
“there has been a “national obsession” in Ireland with the “points race””.
The points system has created this obsession. It’s an archaic measurement that awards rote learning, does little to analyse important strengths like critical thinking & benefits the wealthy who can pay tutors to stuff information into Turlough after rugby practice.
It is time to overhaul the entire system and create a progressive measurement that appraises learners throughout secondary school.
@Bat Boy: good point…if we are to progress we need to understand the cause and the effect and know the difference
Another day another Simon Harris headline. Well done Jane great journalism. Simon will give you another scoop soon.
There is certainly better methods nowadays to measure success. A memory exam where you churn out repeated answers is no real way to measure one’s ability. It consists of looking up old answers and questions and repeating it over and over and hoping it pops up. It doesn’t teaches you how to think, critical examine, form arguments and refute others.
The focus is way too broad too.
What relevance has woodworking got to a future doctor?
Why does an engineer need to understand Irish?
These exams don’t define anyone. Schools are point driven and those who don’t make the grade made to feel worthless.
The obsession is not with points race but with university admission, so much so that we now have new universities coming out of the swamps, who, are now handing out such high grades to keep everyone feeling intelligent. The standard of education at third level in Ireland has collapsed unless the course is sponsored or overseen by outside commercial interests. That’s not what a university is. (The literacy of graduates is perhaps at 1980s 2nd level standard). The problem was within the college sector itself who wanted to be like Thatcher’s new universities but were still only polytechs in thought and procedure. Look at DIT….. still the same ole baloney unless you want to do architecture or repair glasses. They all wanted to be “lecturers” and what changed? Their address.
The Leaving Cert will change when the teaching unions decide to let it change.
Far from being the rich kids friend, the CAO points system is the poorer students’ friend or ally. All other systems will allow the ‘elites’ to make their sneaky little phone calls and ‘quiet word in your ear’ etc. All the continuous assessment/project work/interview etc is all open to abuse. The CAO, may be tough, but is essentially not open to abuse. No professors/politicians/moneyed folks etc, can get a single additional point for their little darling. Worth asking yourself why ‘privileged’ simon harris never misses an opportunity to badmouth CAO system. Hardly a man of the people. #You DontKnowWhatYouGotTillItsGone
Heard this the other day.
We in Ireland teach our kids to do exams and not educate them on the subject.
In Finland no state exams. And it works.
@Triton: Finland certainly get a good press and probably deserve it. What do you think of their system that farms half of 12 year olds to university and half into apprenticeships?
@Triton: That’s wrong. They have a high stakes final exam very similar to the LC. Its actually graded on deciles so only top 10% of scorers get the top grade etc. That exam is required for college. Colleges also set their own entrace exams as well that need to be studied for separately. So the idea that its some exam free utopia is just not accurate. Only about half of an age group go to an acedemic secondary school, the rest go to vocational schools. Which way you go – academic or vocational – is also based on an exam btw.
”A bad workman blames his tools” Of course the L.C. is not perfect but it is the best we have, hopefully just for the short term. Any alternative will only be a tweak on the L.C. because it is and has to be a ‘competition’. I have seen it from both ends and the difference between private and public education is, frankly, shocking.
In ‘public’ schools, the emphasis is more on the teacher passing on the information and hoping for the best exam results. Bad results have no consequences for the teachers. Teachers, seem to believe that their only job is to teach the curriculum, not the child. There is little emphasis placed on the confidence of the student. Just look at the ways schools handle bullying, disruptive children in the classroom, ‘discipline’ or even trying to encourage children to find their best talents.
Students in ‘private’ schools are encouraged every step of the way, bullying has zero tolerance, videos of class lessons and notes are given in addition to class time and free. The whole system is much more focused on the individual.
Some might say that this is all about money and aren’t I lucky, I am!!!!. But given that most of the teachers we have are trained together, why can’t both systems be the same? The Dept of Education and the teacher’s unions are more interested in trying to put the blame on everything else rather than their own inadequacies.
And too many parents are happy to be negative about the educational system and use schools as a babysitting service, rather than tackling the real issues but most importantly boosting the self confidence of their child and being positive about the brilliant education system we have.
Simon Harris did not even go to university and he’s somehow qualified to be a minister of higher education ? He only gained the health ministry because of loyalty to enda Kenny, and has done very little since to justify high office and has presided over more than a few disasters ,like the children’s hospital.
Snow flakes
Yes it is cruel. We don’t have the facilities to allow people do what they want to study. We should have smaller amount courses that are actually career relevant to facilitate all who want to do them instead of a point rat race system.
Only the weaklings are complaining and failing.
The leaving cert suits the well off who can pay for grinds and the perfect answers for their kids when they sit this memory test exam. In a normal work environment we process large amounts of information that we reference and are not expected to memorize. The leaving cert does not reflect this. Its a rigged system designed to open doors for the few into the high earning, high status degree courses.
@John: I don’t know the last time you spoke to a child doing their leaving cert. The amount of knowledge they acquire is phenomenal and compared to 20/30 years ago, they not only have acquired 10 times more knowledge but they can understand it, which is the key to a ” memory test” As I said previously, this is mostly about a child’s confidence and parents, teachers need to instill more confidence in children, rather than distracting from the real issues like ‘ rigged systems” Peer pressure plays a huge part in education and ensuring a safe school environment where children can blossom is the first priority. If a child is not doing well in school, there is a reason and that should be addressed and that is where supportive parents come in.
@BarryH: Not everyone should or will do well at school. The basics yeah. But most people will not be a whizz at calculus or Shakespeare. Just as most people won’t be able to replace a worn clutch or whatever. Everyone has different abillities and interests.
@Tom D: Couldn’t agree more with you Tom. It kills me to see some of my old schoolmates who were ‘classified’ as not been very bright by teachers and happy to see them now having found their niche in life and their inner self-confidence and thriving. Don’t you just hate your friends, sometimes LOL. Sometimes I ask myself the ‘What If’ question. What if they had found that confidence earlier in life? We can’t all be surgeons but we could have had fewer worries in our lives. Sorry if that sounds very idealistic but hopefully you get what I mean.
If we bring in continuous assessment you might not get something genuine. A test like that brings a lot of pressure but it gives a clear indication of an ability to prepare and accurately recall information. I’d like it reformed to award more critical thinking skills.
The points race is for the rich kids only. Just another example of poverty having no voice at all.
I said it before, and i’ll say it again.
I cannot believe that the man who couldn’t have been bothered to finish his college degree and who dropped out of higher education, is now the Minister of Higher Education.
Previous reporting such as “Harris, who studied Journalism at DIT Aungier St” was actually misleading and incorrect, as he dropped out half way through the course.
But hey, if you good with the gab, and can come up with soundbites such as “speed trumps perfection” then you will rise to the top.
We are looking at the next FG Leader here folks, and possibly the next Taoiseach in 6 years time.
You have been warned.
@UCD Trinity: I am no fan of Harris but this is just SF propaganda at its worst. I can think of several billionaires and intellects who didn’t go to college or dropped out of their courses, for many different reasons.
@BarryH: I think you are missing the point. To get a job in the higher education sector, even low administrative grades, one needs a third level college qualification. Yet this guy has no college qualification because he dropped out half way through his course. Yet he is handed the highest post within the Higher Education sector, that of Minister of Education.
Yes i agree, third level college is not for everyone, and some have gone on to be very successful that never attended college. My comment is not to suggest that everyone needs or should go to third level education. However, i will argue that to hold the highest post in the Higher Education Sector, one should, at least, have a basic third level degree of some sort. And remember, he is not of a generation like Richard Branson or Warren Buffet, he is relatively young, of the generation where third level qualification is seen as vital. Even tradesmen are now doing learning blocks in institutes of technology and colleges, and others who did not attend college full time are now doing so part-time whilst working. This guy did neither.
And to be frank, i wouldn’t let this guy run the corner chipper. He is over a decade in Government, and what has he done ? A failed Heath Minister, and in my opinion, a failed Higher Education Minister.
@UCD Trinity: I see your point but that is the way political appointments are made. Wrongly in my opinion. There is an election coming up soon and he is coming out now with all these pre-election statements to ensure his seat and probably bring Donnelly in with him. FG/FF!! Yo scratch my back sort of thing.
That lad is like a pimple on my body, that I know I have to squeeze
Its the seniors in dept of edication have been keeping this model for years advising whichever minister happens to be in power at the time against any change.
This sounds more like he’s going to say he’s got a plan in place and then he’s going to TRY and just take the money
have your say