Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Apr 1996

Vol. 463 No. 6

Written Answers. - Information Services for Revenue Investigations.

Batt O'Keeffe

Question:

115 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance the number of people who were investigated on the basis of information received from members of the public; the number who were found not be to in compliance by the Revenue Commissioners; and the number who were found to be innocent for the years 1994 and 1995. [6996/96]

Batt O'Keeffe

Question:

116 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance whether there is potential, in the context of the collection of taxes, for third-party informants to suffer abuse and score-settling; and, if so, the concerns he has in this regard. [6997/96]

Batt O'Keeffe

Question:

117 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance the number of third party informants who received payments from the Revenue Commissioners; and the amount each received. [6998/96]

Minister for Finance (Mr. Quinn)

It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 115, 116 and 117 together.

It is the policy of the Revenue Commissioners to investigate as far as possible all information received from whatever source concerning any tax, duty or prohibition. The Revenue Commissioners have made it clear that they do not seek out or induce people to give information, nor do they simply accept at face value any information received. Revenue officials have wide experience in sifting and evaluating information received from many different sources, including information received from members of the public. It is sometimes the case that information received from the public is in fact already known to Revenue.

Information from the public, whether given in person, by telephone or in writing is often "hearsay" in the legal sense and, as such, has limited evidential value, Revenue officials are conscious of this limitation. Consequently, care is taken to analyse all information in order to assess the quality of the information before any follow-up action is taken.

Information received from members of the public is just one of several factors taken into account in deciding whether or not to initiate an audit or investigation. It is therefore not possible to state how many persons were found to be non-compliant solely on the basis of information received from members of the public.

There is of course a potential for a mischievous informant to attempt to misuse any regulatory authority for the purpose mentioned by the Deputy. For this reason, Revenue assure me that it has systems in place to ensure that all information is carefully evaluated, and if possible, validated before any follow up action is taken.

As regards the number of informants and amounts paid, 26 payments were made in 1994 at a total of just over £24,000 and 27 payments were made in 1995 totalling just under £23,000. In the great majority of cases, the individual payments did not exceed £500. The largest individual payment was £11,000 in 1995. The question of a payment is considered only when there is a recovery of the tax or duty involved or prohibited items are seized.