Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with that. I have tremendous respect for the work Revenue has done. It sometimes has to collect taxes with which it does not agree but, by and large, it has done a tremendous job over the years. I have serious issues, however, over the Apple case. On the question of the independence of Revenue, we are dealing with a tax ruling from 1991 after negotiations that began in 1990. Did the Moriarty tribunal not find, in 1997, that the Taoiseach, Charlie Haughey, intervened with the chairperson of the Revenue Commissioners shortly after becoming Taoiseach? The tribunal, which has been accepted by all parties in this House, found that Mr. Haughey conferred an undue advantage on Ben Dunne as a result of the intervention, which was in respect of Mr. Dunne's tax bill. The tax bill was reduced by around £23 million, or €29 million. Is it true to say that the independence of the Revenue Commissioners has not always been respected? There have been interventions at the highest level and the example I have given coincides, in time terms, with the first Apple ruling.