Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have been thinking about what the witnesses have been saying on whether it should be held in public. It is a key point that the three witnesses have raised. While Mr. Keegan referred to the sophistication of the members of the public, with which I agree, I also agree with Ms O'Brien that when someone's name is associated with the Revenue Commissioners there is an automatic suspicion that the person has done something wrong, broken the rules or withheld tax. The same can be said about our courts when someone is charged with a serious offence. When cases are going through the courts, the full details are published.

At the end, when a jury adjudicates, the person may be acquitted. However, this does not seem to matter. The principle which Ms O'Brien seems to be arguing, if we were to apply it to the courts, is that we should not publish anything until the determination is made and someone is found guilty. This is my problem with the argument she is putting forward.

In the previous hearing, serious claims were made regarding evidence that some taxpayers are using the appeal system as a way of delaying payment so as to buy time to dissipate assets. This is trying to ensure, to quote what was said, that "the Exchequer and the compliant majority of taxpayers still lose". Some of the delegates are practitioners. In their experience, are there practitioners who are advising clients to use the appeal process for this purpose?