Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We are on the question of PAYE assessments and refunds and release more broadly.

The Minister announced on budget day that he and the Revenue Commissioners intend to roll out a public campaign to inform people of their entitlements. I know from a reply to a parliamentary question I received from him last week that there are several hundred thousand tax units or individuals who have yet to make tax returns and potentially claim the various reliefs that might be available to them. It is believed the average refund in reliefs comes in at approximately €700 per year, which is not an insignificant amount of money, especially for people on low and modest incomes and especially at this difficult time in the middle of a serious cost-of-living crisis. When does the Minister intend to instigate that campaign? Will he provide the committee with an update on precisely what he plans to do with the Revenue Commissioners, because it would be a useful public initiative? This money goes unclaimed. The Minister put on record on budget day that probably close to €200 million has gone unclaimed for 2022. it is a significant amount of money. What does the Minister intend to do to raise awareness of the availability of the reliefs and the requirement for PAYE workers to do tax returns to obtain them so they can understand their liabilities and the position?