Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2019
161. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Finance the reason the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in Sligo will not accept customer appointments; if he will investigate same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16461/19]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that it operates an appointments service at many of its public offices, including the Sligo office.
The appointments service facilitates taxpayers in meeting Revenue officials at a time that best suits individual circumstances and removes the potential for delays or queueing. Revenue has also assured me that the circumstances of elderly taxpayers or those with long distances to travel are always taken into account when scheduling appointments. So far this year the Sligo office has dealt with 60 such appointments.
Revenue has confirmed that the telephone message in respect of appointments at the Sligo office malfunctioned for a short period of time and incorrectly informed callers that ‘Sligo appointments service is not available’. This error led callers to assume the service had ceased. The error has now been corrected and the Sligo service is fully functional.
If the Deputy is aware of any taxpayer who encountered difficulties and has still not been contacted, he can provide the details to Revenue at direct telephone number 01 6474222. Revenue has assured me that it will quickly contact any such persons to resolve their issues.
