Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I, too, want the information as it will allow me to form the best view I can of the current state of our tax base because one could reach different conclusions in relation to how many taxpayers are paying tax as opposed to how many tax units are paying tax. Given the value I place on maintaining the breadth of the tax base, I want this information too. Prior to the Deputy raising this issue with me, I had a number of discussions within the Department on how best to gather this information. I am unable to accept the amendment because there are two issues at the heart of this matter, namely, the manner in which the information is provided, which I have touched on in my response to the Deputy, and the way the information is tracked and captured within the Revenue Commissioner systems. It is possible that the Revenue Commissioners will respond to the effect that it cannot give me the information in the way I or the Deputy want it. If I can get the information, I will be happy to share it with the Deputy and the committee. If the Revenue Commissioners come back to me to conclusively on why they cannot provide the information, I will share that with the Deputy too.

In regard to the Deputy's point about tapering, he is correct that the Revenue Commissioners cannot provide that information directly to him. Were the Deputy to ask me for my judgment on these figures, I would give it to him with all kinds of caveats, including that we have to use judgments because of the system limitations I touched on earlier. The figures were shared with me. I do not have them with me today but I am happy to share them with the Deputy. I cannot accept the amendment because it is possible that I will not be able to do what the Deputy asks. If I can get the information, I will share it with the Deputy and if I cannot do so, I will explain why.