Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A number of concerns have been raised with me. On the MyEnquiries facility, the target time for responding to a query is between 20 and 25 days. I often hear that the responses people receive do not answer the questions they asked. This means it will take a further 20 or 25 days to clarify a response. For example, someone applying for a tax clearance certificate will be under pressure. Heretofore, if someone marginally missed a VAT or PAYE deadline or an issue arose that he or she was not aware of, he or she was able to contact a local tax office by telephone and have the matter resolved instantly. Now, however, people can wait for weeks to have issues resolved. The concern raised is that raising a point of clarification increases the time it takes to deliver a response to a query.