Vol. 408 No. 8
12 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Finance the number of occasions on which the Black Economy Monitoring Group, established in April 1990, under the Programme for National Recovery, have met so far; the progress which has been made; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The monitoring group met on six occasions since their establishment. The group consists of representatives of employers, trade unions, the construction industry, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Welfare. They provide a forum for an exchange of views on the effectiveness of the numerous ongoing programmes to combat the black economy.
The group have reviewed information sources which could lead to better identification of tax defaulters in the black economy and have made recommendations as regards possible projects to tackle aspects of the black economy. Based on the recommendations of the group a number of projects to deal with specific problems in particular sectors are either under way or about to start.
Ongoing discussions have helped to focus the audit and compliance programmes under the self-assessment system. Discussions in the group have assisted the Revenue Commissioners in preparing proposals to strengthen their field force in the areas concerned with the investigation of new liabilities and the construction industry.
Can the Minister indicate some of the measures which either he or the Revenue Commissioners have taken which have arisen from recommendations made by the monitoring group?
I do not expect Deputy Gilmore expects me to reveal here the hand of the Revenue Commissioners in matters about to take place and the sort of areas they are investigating. I think it is well known that in the construction industry, timber industry, hotels and various such sector areas are being followed up in various ways. The group are a very useful forum. They provide views from various sectors that can help the Revenue Commissioners to combat the black economy. This is a useful way of sharing information and defusing feelings in certain quarters that not enough is being done in this area. Quite a useful amount of information is being fed in and many areas have been followed through. To give some idea without disclosing the hand of the Revenue Commissioners, they had 788 visits in the first three months of this year arising out of ideas that came through this forum. Ninety-one persons were detected who were not previously on record and there were 132 people with substantial unreturned income. There were 24 for further investigation and 21 for audit. That gives some idea of the operations and how successful they have been.
