Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Cody. I pay tribute to him and all his staff for the work they do and their contribution to the State. I also thank the Comptroller and Auditor General and all his staff for their consistent work on behalf of the committee.

With so much focus this week on expenditure in the State, it is opportune that officials from the Revenue Commissioners are here this morning as we look at the income side. Despite the fact that Revenue collected €62 billion in gross receipts last year, listening to Deputies making statements in the House in recent days and adding up the cost of the many items on their it is possible that Mr. Cody and his colleagues may have to bring in a few more euro. Perhaps he could find out for us whether what would be possible.

I will cover the Revenue accounts and appropriation accounts before coming to the chapters on fuel laundering and compliance. In our role as political representatives, one of the items with which we continually deal is the pressure on small and medium-sized businesses. One of the issues that struck me from the figures that which relates to managing taxpayer debt. At the end of 2015, approximately 8,500 taxpayers or businesses - covering almost €96 million of tax debt - had phased payment arrangements to enable them to overcome significant cashflow problems. Given that only €96 million of the €823 million of the debt available for collection had phased payment arrangements in place in respect of it, is there not scope for increasing the level of such arrangements so that more businesses could be helped? With 8,500 businesses covered by the €96 million to which I refer, how many are covered by the remaining €727 million? Any small businesses person would talk about the operating pressures he or she is experiencing.

I know that when they are hit with a tax bill, they say it is always something that shakes them to the core. If a greater phased arrangement could be put in place on the debt side to enable them to overcome these cashflow problems, it would be most significant. Can Mr. Cody comment on that?