Seen&Heard: Department considering whether to give banking inquiry notes from night of bank guarantee

Official’s notes include minutes from two meetings held on September 29th, 2008, in Government Buildings

Bank guarantee notes The Department of Finance is considering whether to give the Oireachtas banking inquiry two notes from the night of the bank guarantee

written by a Department official.

They include minutes from two meetings held on September 29th, 2008, in Government Buildings. The first involved then taoiseach Brian Cowen, minister for finance Brian Lenihan, financial regulator Pat Neary and Tony Grimes, director general of the Central Bank, the Sunday Times reports. The second was between Mr Lenihan, officials and senior executives from AIB and Bank of Ireland.

The paper had sought the notes under the Freedom of Information Act but was denied on the grounds that the information was used to brief the cabinet at the time and as such were subject to exemption.

However changes to the Act mean cabinet documents can be released after five years.

Another application by the paper was denied on grounds including that they qualified under exemption covering records required by a tribunal. The paper says the Department is taking legal advice on releasing the information.

Special low tax rate A special rate of corporation tax of below 5 per cent

is being considered by the Government for the so-called knowledge development box. This was the flagship tax reform introduced in the budget to ease the pain for large corporates as the “double-Irish” tax scheme was wound up. Knowledge or patent boxes allow companies to avail of a special low rate of tax on revenue derived from intellectual property from a certain country. The Department of Finance is due to reveal its consultation on the knowledge development box this week.

The Sunday Business Post says officials are understood to have been examining a rate of 6.5 per cent. However, following the “Lux leaks” tax avoidance revelations which involved reporting by The Irish Times, it’s believed that the prospects for a lower Irish rate has improved as many other countries have generous tax benefits for corporations.

Veterinary College site Property investment firm Ardstone Capital is

in talks to take over the development of the former UCD Veterinary College in Ballsbridge, according to the Sunday Times. The mixed-use development is owned by the Comer Group. Two Mayo brothers, Martin and Padraic McHale, who operate an agricultural machinery business, are also shareholders.

The paper says talks are ongoing but there is no certainty a deal will be concluded.

Tesco executive suspension

Tesco has suspended an executive over the investigation into a £263 million accounting scandal, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The paper says the executive is understood to have been suspended in December. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office is investigating the scandal but is unlikely to report its findings for some months, with Tesco facing a potential fine.