Mr. Niall Cody:

Absolutely. We chair the hidden economy monitoring group, which has been in place for 20 years and which includes representation from trade bodies, the unions, the Department of Social Protection and the National Employment Rights Association. We have developed a reporting system by means of which trade bodies can supply us with information. Owners of local businesses are hugely aware of what is taking place in their areas. We have stated that if we receive information, we will treat it confidentially and follow up on it. However, we will not report back on the results of our investigations because that would bring us into the realm of taxpayer confidentiality. I have been involved in the hidden economy monitoring group and I was previously involved in a group, chaired by Deputy Perry, which dealt with better regulation. The latter group discussed matters with business interests. We will meet anyone to discuss problems relating to tax evasion but there is often a big gap between holding general discussions and talking about matters in particular detail. Mr. Rigney currently chairs the hidden economy monitoring group. The challenge is to turn generalities into specifics.