Dr. Brian Keegan:

There has been a practice, probably since the establishment of this State, whereby the individual affairs of taxpayers have always been treated confidentially and Revenue reports back, as it does every year in its annual report, in the round on how many taxpayers it has dealt with, how much tax it has collected and under which tax heads. However, the actual precise individual affairs of taxpayers never came to light except in the context of court proceedings, for example, if a taxpayer took a case through the courts relating to their tax affairs. Only at that stage would the actual individual breakdown of a taxpayer's affairs become known.