Ms Kerry Curran:

The Senator raised the issue of engagement with the Revenue Commissioners. I note the request for Mr. McDonnell to provide a paper, which we would be happy to co-ordinate with him. We have been working closely with the Revenue, alongside Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, HMRC, to support businesses trading cross-Border on the island, which need to interact with both agencies.

We held a successful webinar a few weeks ago, when we had more than 800 registrants, in order to help businesses understand exactly what they need to do when they are interacting with the Revenue and HMRC. It is not simply a matter of the paperwork at ports and the issues with MRNs. It is broader than that in terms of all of the complexities and changes that businesses are coming to terms with and trying to fully understand about their obligations to the Revenue and HMRC.

That includes the changes that are taking place with VAT, for example, with Northern Ireland following the EU VAT rules for goods but following the UK system for services. That impacts on Irish firms trading cross-Border with Northern Ireland in services. Those same firms are also trading across the water with Great Britain in goods and services so it is a complex picture for businesses to get used to. What we are touching upon today with MRNs is just one of the many issues that firms are addressing with the Revenue.

The Revenue has been positive in getting out there. It has engaged with us. Celine O'Neill of the Revenue has been engaging with ISME and its members, trying to put forward as comprehensive a picture for Irish businesses as possible. It is a big change. A lot of changes are taking place at once and aspects of the changes in tax and VAT are just one of the many issues that businesses are dealing with. A culmination of all of these things are causing problems with firms rather than just one specific element of their engagement with the Revenue.