I am not clear what exactly the Deputy has in mind. As he will be aware, there are existing arrangements between the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Revenue Commissioners whereby members of the DPP's staff provide on-the-ground assistance for Revenue in the course of investigations of criminal cases. Under these arrangements cases are now handled by Revenue without the involvement of the Garda which refers them directly to the DPP.
The Deputy may be referring to the issue of a revenue court. In its final report the sub-committee of the Committee of Public Accounts on DIRT found "that the case has not been made for the introduction of a Revenue Court and fiscal prosecutor." It recommended that "the Department of Finance in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General undertake a more detailed study of the benefits of a Revenue Court and fiscal prosecutor and to report to the Public Accounts Committee by 31 March 2002."
My Department had preliminary discussions with the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners as to how the study proposed by the sub-committee of the Committee of Public Accounts might be undertaken. I discussed the matter with the Attorney General. Having considered it, it was decided that the Attorney General would ask the Law Reform Commission to undertake the study. The Government noted the position in December 2001.