asked the Minister for Finance whether he will state (a) what was the total liability alleged against the defendant in the case of the Revenue Commissioners v.R.J. Duggan; (b) what sum have the Revenue Commissioners accepted in satisfaction of their claim; (c) on what grounds did the State forego the balance of claim.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Settlement of Betting Tax Prosecution.
(a) The unpaid duty in respect of which proceedings were taken by the Revenue Commissioners against Mr. R.J. Duggan amounted to £187 1s. Od.
The proceedings were not, however, taken to recover this duty, but to recover penalties for failure to pay the several amounts included in the total sum mentioned and for other offences against the law relating to the duty on bets. The total of the penalties sued for was £42,500.
(b) The Revenue Commissioners have accepted a total penalty of £9,000, together with £187 1s. Od. in respect of duty outstanding and £650 to cover the costs of the proceedings.
(c) The Revenue Commissioners were advised by their counsel and by the Attorney-General that if the cases were tried to a conclusion the total of the penalties which they would recover would not exceed £9,000. The award of penalties would not carry an award of costs, which cannot be recovered by the State in Excise cases; nor would it involve payment of the duty outstanding. The settlement, therefore, was an advantageous one from the revenue point of view. Furthermore, the settlement of the case obviated the piling up of a considerable bill for irrecoverable costs and the expenditure of the time over a long period of a large number of officials.
I should like to ask the Minister if the defendant was charged with a criminal offence and, if so, by what authority the State is enabled to settle a prosecution for a criminal offence.
The Deputy will have to ask the Minister for Finance that.
The question is addressed to the Minister for Finance.
This is a supplementary question and the Minister for Finance is in the Seanad.
Diplomatic absence.
Would the Minister say how the settlement in this case compares with the penalties inflicted in similar cases on people who are at present in prison?
I cannot say. The Deputy heard that the advice of counsel and of the Attorney-General was that if the cases were prosecuted to a conclusion it was unlikely that a larger penalty would be obtained than that referred to. I presume that, in any case, one does not get more than the penalty which the court imposes.
Was the Minister for Justice consulted in the matter?
I could not say.