David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This media report also states that of the 100 companies that were not given a clean bill of health, five randomly selected companies or individuals were found to owe over €50,000 and seven were found to owe between €20,000 and €50,000. This means that 4.1% of companies or individuals that were audited were found to have a tax liability outstanding of between €20,000 and €50,000 and a further 3% had liabilities of over €50,000. In any event, we all accept that the overall figures - in terms of the 35% - are high. I merely want to establish the facts first.

Obviously, that is of concern because this is merely the sample. It goes back to what was stated earlier by an Teachta Connolly on what is the tax gap. My understanding of the tax gap - perhaps I can obtain clarification on this - is that it is the difference between what is paid and what should be paid if everybody was in full compliance with the tax code. Is that correct?