Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the delegates for coming today and enlightening us as much as they have. I have a friend in the United States with a large grocery store who was caught leaving the country with a suitcase full of money. Apparently, he operated 16 checkouts but only 15 of them were reported; the authorities did not know about the other one and he ended up with a sentence of four years in jail. When the garlic scam took place this year, there was an outcry when the man who had admitted he had done it received a sentence of six years. When Mr. Noonan talks about tough enforcement, I wonder whether the country is willing to take such tough enforcement measures. How do the delegates feel about the matter, assuming there is tough enforcement, in which case some of their own members will be found to have misbehaved in various ways?

It is interesting to hear Deputy Calleary talk about having extra staff. A regime has been introduced in France whereby inspectors stand outside various places and insist on seeing a receipt. If a customer does not receive a receipt or does not have it with him or her when the inspector requests to see it, he or she is found to have broken the law, in addition to the retailer. To what extent are we ready for this? We have a tradition in Ireland of not regarding tax evasion as a very serious offence.

Once again, we hear about a tax amnesty. I am a great believer in tax amnesties, which have worked very well in the past. However, every time one introduces a tax amnesty, one encourages someone to think he or she might get away with it because there will be another. What are the speakers' views on that issue? I did not quite understand the suggestion of a tax incentive for homeowners. Will the speakers give us a further insight into that suggestion?