Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everyone to the meeting. Apologies have been received from Deputy Dillon. If attending in the committee room, attendees are asked to exercise personal responsibility to protect themselves and others against the risk of contracting Covid-19. Members of the committee attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of the Parliament. This is due to the constitutional requirement that, to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines of the place where the Dáil has chosen to sit.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, is a permanent witness to the committee and is accompanied this morning by Ms Josephine Mooney, deputy director of audit at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

This morning, we will engage with officials from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners to examine the following: from the 2021 appropriation accounts for Vote 9, Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the account of the receipt of revenue by the State collected by the Revenue Commissioners in 2021; and from the Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2021, Chapter 15 - Collection of VAT on e-commerce, Chapter 16 - Revenue's suspension of periodic reviews of tax clearance certificates, and Chapter 17 - Overstatement of certain unallocated tax deposits. The letter of invitation advised at the collection of tax revenue with regard to online gambling is also an area of interest to the committee.

We are joined from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners by Mr. Niall Cody, chairperson of the board, Ms Ruth Kennedy, deputy commissioner, Mr. Dermot Donegan, principal officer, and Ms Angela O'Gorman, principal officer. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's representative is unwell and sends his apologies. The witnesses are all very welcome. I remind all those in attendance to ensure their mobile telephones are on silent or switched off.

Before we start, I wish to explain some limitations to parliamentary privilege and the practice of the Houses as regards reference witnesses may make to other persons in their evidence. As the witnesses are within the precincts of Leinster House, they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the presentations they make to the committee. This means they have an absolute defence against any defamation action for anything they say at the meeting. However, witnesses are expected not to abuse this privilege and it is my duty, as Chairman, to ensure that privilege is not abused. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory to an identifiable person or entity, I may direct witnesses to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative they comply with any such directions.

Members are reminded of the provisions in Standing Order 218 that the committee shall refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government, or a Minister of the Government, or the merits of the objectives of such policies. Members are also reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I invite the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, to make his opening statement.