David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Revenue has a role in regard to the collection of taxes. Mistakes were made in the past leading up to the collapse of the economy and during the Celtic tiger era. There were also problems in the banking system that led to fiscal problems, in response to which adjustments had to be made. Another one of the ingredients of the collapse was an overdependence on consumption taxes. There were a number of different factors to it. We hope that lessons were learned. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has raised the concern that much of the spending now is based on unsustainable corporation tax receipts and that we are essentially exposed in some respects, in that a small number of companies pay almost half of the corporation taxes. Does Revenue have a role in terms of having an eye to the sustainability of tax or is that a matter for others? One of the critiques of the State organisations as a consequence of the crash, be that the Department of Finance, economists or watchdogs, as well as Revenue or the Central Bank of Ireland, was that organisations were asleep at the wheel. I am assuming that Revenue is not asleep at the wheel and that it has an eye to this issue but does it have a remit in this area or is a matter for others? Does Revenue review the overall tax receipts from a sustainability perspective?