Ms Josephine Feehily:

I thank the Deputy for the compliment. Let me go back a little. We all found this chapter really interesting. Our approach to audit settlements and other interventions has been evolving. Every year we take another look to determine whether we can improve the recording and the way we do our work. Ten years ago circumstances were entirely different. We now have a code of practice that is published. It has changed several times in the timeframe. Our IT systems and staff have changed. We are in a position in which our approach to how we do our work is constantly being examined. We were already having conversations among ourselves about the classification issue when the Comptroller and Auditor General did this work. We had drafted some quality guidelines. More important, we had redesigned our case management system. That is reflected in this instance. The case management system now has a much richer, more granular classification. One should put oneself in the position of the auditor or the Revenue official whose job is to do compliance work on a risk basis and get into cases. We did not have a mechanism for having everything recorded or classified. Approximately ten years ago we were carrying out what we called 16,000 audits, approximately. We are now carrying out 9,000. That represents classification more than anything else. It is because we have provided for other types of intervention which we have codified and made available to our staff to capture and classify in their work.

The more important point – I acknowledge that the Deputy says this is the easy one – is that the money was collected. The Exchequer got the money.