Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2018
51. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will address a matter raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding import and export statistics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40705/18]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that it provides statistical information on the movement of goods into and out of Ireland to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), based on Intrastat returns made by traders. The Revenue Commissioners also carries out follow up queries with traders where requested to do so by the CSO. The CSO is responsible for analysing the data and making the information publicly available.
Occasionally, Intrastat returns include inaccuracies, such as incorrect reporting of commodity codes by traders. Following a request from the CSO for a review of figures that were included in a report sent by it to the person in question, Revenue discovered that a trader had used an incorrect commodity code to report the export of another product as being an export of radiators. This resulted in the report on the volume of exported radiators being inflated. The CSO was informed of the error on 24 July 2018.
The Revenue Commissioners has advised me that it is working with the CSO to correct the data as quickly as possible. The CSO will then ensure that the revised information is provided directly to the person in question.
