Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Like many people, I was slightly surprised at the fall-back in income tax and related revenues in the quarterly returns. While I appreciate that the first quarter is a little too soon to be able to make a reliable forecast for the rest of the year, there are specific questions I wish to ask about it. There has been very welcome news about the continuing rise in the number of people employed and the continuing fall in the level of unemployment. Is there a reconciliation between the numbers of people in employment and the income tax revenues under the principle headings of PAYE, income tax, USC, PRSI and so on? Is that part of the work of either or both Departments?

There are a few issues which may partly explain the fall in the actual figures significantly behind profile at this early stage of the year. Counties such as Donegal have reported a 5% or 6% fall in tourism. The drop is generally agreed to be due to Brexit and the sterling exchange rate. The fall in tourism is similarly evident in some other parts of the country. There is much worry in the tourism sector that the trend could continue.

Another potential reason is that there may have been a very large development of the shadow or grey economy so that while there are a lot of extra people at work, they are not fully accountable for PAYE or other labour tax purposes or contributions. One guideline in that regard is the PRSI figures. Are the figures in line with expectations or behind target?

Third, it is possible that the phenomenon of bogus self-employment which has been a factor in the Irish economy is expanding. This would mean many more people who would traditionally have been employees now being classed as contractors, assistants, operators or whatever. They are deemed to be self-employed but they are not. I would like to know what happened to the report into bogus self-employment which was being worked on by both Departments with the Department of Social Protection. Why has it never been published? I commissioned it when I was Minister for Social Protection. I am sure it is long since finished but, notwithstanding the fact that I have asked many questions about it, it has yet to see the light of day.

Perhaps our statistics or tax and revenue systems are not capturing the contribution being made by people who have immigrated to Ireland, not necessarily returning Irish emigrants.

It is quite worrying that this fall-back should happen. One of these Departments is involved in sensitive wage negotiations. What do the witnesses think may be contributing to this? It is important in terms of forward financial planning and the remit of this committee.