Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 December 2018
134. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his plans for the restructuring and realignment of the internal structure of the Revenue Commissioners; the estimated impact on staff and the location in which services are provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51664/18]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that Revenue operates independently from Ministerial direction and matters relating to its internal structure are the responsibility of the Commissioners.
I have been advised by Revenue that it continually develops its structure to ensure optimum alignment of resources with the management of risk and the delivery of high-quality service to support voluntary and timely taxpayer compliance. For example, the Revenue Statement of Strategy for the period 2017-2019 indicates that Revenue will continue to ensure its structure accommodates and reflects changes in the customer base, the evolving national and international tax and customs environment, and the impact of significant changes for tax administration such as the PAYE Modernisation programme.
In the last three years Revenue has reorganised its legislation divisions to set up an International Division, established a stand-alone Customs Division, reorganised its Investigation and Prosecutions Division and established teams in Planning, ICT and the Revenue Solicitor’s Divisions outside Dublin.
The current phase of structural realignment involves moving from what was previously a single Large Cases Division and four geographically based Regions (Border Midland West Region, Dublin Region, East South-East Region and South West Region) to a new structure comprising of five new Divisions based on a nationally segmented customer base.
The new national Divisions are Large Corporates Division, High Wealth Individuals Division, Medium Enterprises Division, Business Division and Personal Division. As part of Revenue’s workforce planning framework, the realignment includes additional resources being assigned to manage the risks in larger cases, including high wealth individuals.
Revenue also advises me that it will continue to maximise the benefit of its geographic spread across the country and provide opportunities for diversity of roles, responsibilities and opportunities across the organisation. The realignment project will, over time, involve changes in roles and responsibilities for staff and I understand that Revenue continue to engage in a comprehensive programme of employee engagement to embed the changes throughout the organisation.
I would like to commend Revenue for its proactive approach in aligning its resources in order to continue to meet the myriad of challenges it faces on both the national and international fronts.
