Charlie McCreevy (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I do not, and would not, have evidence of how the Revenue Commissioners will deal with these matters. That is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners and evidence is not supplied to me as to the legitimacy or otherwise of the cases. The information will come out when the Revenue Commissioners are investigating these matters.

There are many reasons for having offshore accounts. People have them for legitimate business reasons. Many ex-pats who work abroad on contracts and so forth often use these accounts for a variety of reasons and continue to maintain them when they return to Ireland. However, this will become clear when the Revenue Commissioners conclude their investigation and produce a report on the matter. They also produce annual reports and are interrogated by the press. When the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners comes before the relevant committee of the House, he may be asked further questions. At present, my concern is to get these investigations started. The more money that is collected for the Exchequer, the better for everybody.

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