Vol. 403 No. 4
109 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Finance if tax unit 571, Pearse House, Dublin 2 are not processing tax affairs for persons whose surnames begin with the letter "F"; the reason this has occurred; when it will be discontinued; and if he will give an assurance that a tax rebate for a person (details supplied) in County Dublin will be issued before Christmas.
I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that Tax Unit 571, Pearse House, Dublin 2, which deals with the affairs of the taxpayers with surnames beginning with the letters E to L is, at present, the subject of industrial action due to the non-replacement of a member of staff. The taxpayer mentioned comes into the category. The trade union which represents clerical assistants in the office of the Chief Inspector of Taxes has refused, as a matter of policy, to allow its members to do work allocations of non-replaced officers. Consequently, a full review of the taxpayer's liability has not been carried out in this case to date.
However, the recent recruitment of further clerical assistants will ease the situation. Consideration and priority will be given to the cases which are in arrears.
The Revenue Commissioners have assured me that they are making every effort to resolve this matter through local negotiations with the union concerned and the redeployment and allocation of staff resources wherever possible.
