Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We - the Irish State - have been saying to these tax evaders that if they come to us voluntarily, we will treat them in a particular way. That section says it will be game over from 1 May. The point I am making is that this is not something we are introducing now. It is not a window. It is not an amnesty that says if they come to us between now and 1 May, we will treat them in one way but if they do otherwise, we will treat them in another. These individuals have had ample time. If they cannot get their houses in order by 1 January, that is tough. The full rigours of the law should apply to them. They have been given many years to come forward and they have not done so. The question we should ask is whether this should be immediate or backdated from the day of the publication. I agree that when there is a closing date, there will be extra activity. Even if this was introduced now, people will have weeks to comply. It is not a case of waiting for the Finance Bill to pass in order to move. Does the Minister of State think individuals are not taking heed of what we are discussing now? If we decide that the date is to change to 1 January, 1 February or 1 March, they will know before this meeting is over that it is happening because these individuals are monitoring what we are doing. The State is saying that it is giving them another six months on this.