Mr. Brian Keegan:

I argue that 40,000 accountants are a large number of people. I will tell the Deputy a little about the profession. More than two thirds of the accountants in the country are under the age of 45 years. They are people with young families and big mortgages. They are struggling because they have been affected by the downturn as much as everybody else. Most accountants work in industry. They are the people who operate the PAYE and payroll systems and do the VAT returns. They help their businesses to stay compliant and remain on the straight and narrow.

The Deputy referred to another coterie of small accountants in provincial towns who are struggling to keep their businesses and doing their best to earn a reasonable or decent income. It is tough to hear respected elected representatives speak about groups like this being on the fiddle. They contribute a significant amount to compliance in this country. It is an extraordinary fact that 91% of people complied with the local property tax. Revenue's own official figures indicate that more than 88% of businesses comply and pay their taxes within one month of the due date. My profession makes an enormous effort to ensure Ireland's finances are on the straight and narrow. The Office of the Revenue Commissioners is not among the many Government agencies and areas which have legitimately given rise to concerns in the aftermath of the downturn. That is largely because more than 90% of companies rely on accountants to manage their compliance affairs. More than 70% of the self-employed rely on accountants to help them with their requirements. Who is going to pay for this, if not business? If we start charging companies 15% or 20% instead of 12.5%, they will have less money to pay the accountants, their suppliers and employees.

It is a question of balance. I respect the Deputy's view of the balance between how much the corporate and private sectors should contribute. Based on the experience for several years, it seems to us that if the corporate sector is doing well, more people have more money, whether through employment, fees or whatever else, and, by and large, people have a better standard of living. That is why we make this submission. We should send a clear signal that we respect business as the engine which will, I hope, pull us out of this recession. If that is to happen, we need to support businesses by providing clarity about the longer term. That is what informs our submission.