Mr. Niall Cody:

They are sole traders. There are no PAYE workers. Some have small amounts of VAT outstanding as well. We focused on the €734 million. As of September 2016, of that €734 million a total of €568 million has been collected.

After the Comptroller and Auditor General carried out the study on the €734 million, we undertook to map those debts. We engaged proactively with the businesses in question. Of those, approximately 3,500 entered into a phased arrangement. We have increased the numbers under phased arrangements. However, getting involved in a phased arrangement requires two parties in the transaction. We require up-to-date returns, meaningful engagement and a commitment to keep current returns up-to-date. Of the €734 million there is only €43 million left that we have yet to engage with. We have done a considerable amount.

It is really interesting. Around 2012 we had 16,000 cases under phased arrangements. This was when the recession had really hit. Obviously it had hit in 2008, but by the time the debt had risen to enforcement stage it was 2012. By then, we had €126 million under phased arrangement. Some of this reflects the fact that people completed their phased arrangement, their debt is paid and they are on a steady basis.

We are keen to keep feasible businesses in business and to keep people in jobs. However, it requires engagement by the taxpayer. We will talk later about the tax gap. Anyway, there is a down-side. Part of the tax gap includes uncollected debt. Obviously, it has implications for feasible businesses if their next-door neighbours can trade without paying taxes.