Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

On the day the Travers report has been published, highlighting and justifying the work of the Ombudsman in vindicating the rights of citizens in respect of nursing home charges, it is ironic that the Minster for Finance will not accept a modest amendment which proposes that the Ombudsman be given the power, authority and duty to produce a report, in the role of taxpayers' advocate, on the problem of people who overpay tax and who fail to get a prompt refund of tax overpaid.

I accept what the Minister said regarding Revenue seeking to improve the situation. However, that is not the entire point. As with the Travers report, this is also about accountability. When will there be a responsibility not merely to seek to do the minimum but to seek to do the maximum? We have a very narrow tax base of which PAYE taxpayers contribute the vast bulk of tax. This is a small measure to ensure their rights are promptly asserted by the Revenue Commissioners.

There is no Minister in charge of the Revenue Commissioners. While Government policy guides and dictates their actions, they are largely independent of the Minister for Finance. There is not even a MAC meeting at which a Minister could obtain a briefing on how matters are progressing. There is no external accountability by the Revenue Commissioners except by teasing out matters through the process of continuously asking parliamentary questions. It is a painfully slow process, particularly since the Government has all but closed down the possibility of obtaining information under the Freedom of Information Act.

I again commend the amendment to the Minister. I am surprised the Minister is not prepared to break from the former Minister's style and, for once, act on behalf of the compliant PAYE taxpayer.

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