I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the total number of audited settlements made with tax defaulters and published under subsection 2 of section 1068 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 in respect of each of the years 1999 to 2003 and in 2004 to date is as follows: in 1999, 194 cases were published totalling €12.32 million; for 2000, 258 cases were published totalling €19.05 million; for 2001, 295 cases were published totalling €25.44 million; for 2002, 272 cases were published totalling €35.41 million; for 2003, 1,257 were published totalling €133.92 million; and for 2004, 501 were published to date totalling €84.93 million.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that separate records have not been maintained for years prior to 2003 of settlements for less than €12,700, which are not published. In 2003 the figure was 12,531 cases with a yield of €39.16 million. I am, however, in a position to inform the House of the overall total number of audited settlements made with tax defaulters in each of the years in question. These are as follows: for 1999, settlements totalled 16,938 with a yield of €136.87 million; in 2000, the number was 16,000 and the yield was €355.90 million; in 2001, the number was 16,022 and the yield was €202 million; in 2002, the number was 15,951 and the yield was €265.46 million; in 2003, the number was 15,658 and the yield was €423.04 million; and in 2004, the number was 6,686 up to 30 June 2004 and the yield was €224.63 million.
Significant steps have been taken by Revenue to increase its effectiveness in combating evasion over recent years. Key to these developments has been the use of the information powers granted to Revenue in the Finance Act 1999. Revenue has used these powers to great effect, as evidenced in the bogus non-resident account campaign, and this has undoubtedly also influenced the significant voluntary disclosure take-up in Revenue's current offshore account investigation.
