Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is reasonable to expect that as part of Revenue's ongoing compliance programme it may have identified a number of firms that were not, in its view, eligible for qualification for the TWSS or the EWSS and that the money was returned on that basis.

On the question of firms that do not need the money and have returned it and the question of firms that have paid out dividends, there was always a risk that firms that were benefiting from this very significant State investment would decide that they would continue, if profitable, to pay out dividends to shareholders. That issue has been well debated, especially over the past few weeks. It would be important from a public policy point of view, and it is in the public interest, that Revenue would be asked to undertake an audit of firms on the schemes that have paid out dividends. That information would be available in the normal course of Revenue's work and the records that it has access to. That would be evident as well in the annual company accounts filed in the office of the CRO. Has the Minister considered asking the Revenue Commissioners to undertake an audit to establish which firms on the scheme have paid out dividends and the value of that money?