Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful you facilitated my attendance today, Chairman, given that I am not a member of the committee. I represent County Limerick and a number of patronage shareholders have contacted me as well as Senator O'Donnell. Obviously, as Kerry is a bordering constituency there would be some overlap. I am here to articulate the concerns of farmers in rural Ireland who have been hit out of the blue with major tax bills. It is their understanding that the Revenue Commissioners are looking for tax money straight away. They are big bills. We are talking about bills the size of the average industrial wage. Farmers, particularly in my constituency, have been hit extremely hard by the price of milk since my election and even before that. To have this arrive out of the blue before Christmas is causing panic in the agriculture sector. To be honest, it is negative psychologically for farmers who are trying to pursue their career in such difficult circumstances.

The style of communication and the way it has been delivered are a problem. That is the view of those on the ground. As we have seen with the financial institutions when they have tried to call in loans, the issue is the style of communication, how it is articulated and how it is delivered in the letter, as Senator O'Donnell said with regard to fair play. That is the first point. Second, the perception is that they will be hit with the big bills straight away. They wonder how they will keep their farms alive, given what they have gone through over the last 12 months. Then there is the knock-on effect on rural Ireland. How does one keep rural Ireland alive? Agriculture is its backbone and sustains and maintains it. That is what we are trying to deliver and progress. If younger farmers, in particular, are hit with that, it is another psychological blow for them when they are trying to progress the industry and when we are trying to get more people back into sector.

I wish to follow up on the technical aspect of Senator O'Donnell's question. Mr. Phelan said 60 days would be allowed under the aspect query if a farmer writes in to seek it. That is my understanding. I am not a tax consultant or an accountant. Mr. Phelan also said that the assessment side could not be left while this is going on because it is a separate entity or it has separate decision making powers. Is that correct?