Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not disagree with Deputy Creed. Revenue has been quite successful and the success rate can be measured in the new measures it has taken but also in the fact that since 2011, 30 oil laundries have been closed down. It has seized in excess of 3 million litres of illicit fuel and closed 120 filling stations for various breaches. Revenue dips at filling stations but its principal success is due to a Finance Act in which we made it compulsory for people with oil firms for marked oil to make returns and for forecourts to make returns. Fuel is now traced from the refinery, or the port of import, all the way through to the filling station. If there are any discrepancies or anomalies in the supply line, that alerts Revenue and it investigates it, and that includes dipping in the forecourts. Revenue has been quite good.

As I said, the level of profit on laundering is much greater than on kerosene. In the family of fossil fuels, such as diesel, petrol, kerosene, aviation fuel, heavy fuel oil and so on, kerosene and petrol are one step apart.

It is possible for a motor engine to work properly with small additions of kerosene but it is illegal to do so. People can stretch their fuel by adding kerosene but it is illegal to do so. If one were to add 10% kerosene to a litre of petrol, with a ratio of 90% to 10% kerosene, the profit would be about 5 cent a litre. However, the profit on diesel laundering is about 50 cent a litre. In terms of the effort of work by Revenue, diesel laundering is a bigger threat to the revenue of the State and, therefore, Revenue is chasing it. We have to measure the application of resources as well. I will look at what the Deputy has advised and I will draw it to the attention of the Revenue Commissioners but there is this imbalance between the profitability of the two illegal activities.

I read out the list of penalties, which are quite extensive. Sometimes it might be difficult to get proofs because a tank can be dipped at a filling station but it might be difficult to prove who put it into the tank and at what point in the supply chain the kerosene was added. There seems to be a mismatch between the success of Revenue and the number of convictions achieved, and there is also a time lag. Revenue is very conscious of this situation and it is pursuing it very vigorously. We have been talking about getting an indelible marker, meaning that it could not be easily removed by some other chemical process. As a result of shared research with the UK authorities, Revenue believes it now has an indelible marker and it hopes this will be effective on cross-Border activities.

We must acknowledge another element in that much of this activity is driven by former subversives who are now criminals. They have the strong arm and the heavy hand and intimidation is part of the process as well as chemistry degrees.