Dáil debates

Tuesday, 4 October 2005

Report of Comptroller and Auditor General: Motion.

 

7:00 pm

Photo of Brian CowenBrian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

If it is okay, a Cheann Comhairle, I will make a contribution. At a general level the Revenue Commissioners recognise the tax compliance risks which arise in the construction industry and they have carried out an extensive programme of checks, audits and investigations in the industry in 2005.

Revenue has reorganised itself along regional lines, with each Revenue region containing a special compliance district specifically set up to combat evasion. During 2005 to date, both mainstream Revenue auditors and special compliance staff have carried out substantial investigations of tax evasion in the construction industry. The extent of these activities is evident when we consider that Revenue's east and south-east region devoted 50% of its available audit resources to a special investigation of the construction industry, in the first half of the year the region completed almost 500 audits of principal and subcontractors yielding approximately €12 million so far and the region carried out a further 360 compliance checks, 37 site visits and 92 visits to subcontractors newly issued with certificates of authorisation, colloquially known as C2s. By the end of the year, this region alone will have completed over 1,000 construction audits, 800 compliance checks and 70 site visits. Similar activity is taking place throughout the country. Those are the facts.

The Dublin region's special compliance staff carried out 35 site visits and 1,650 compliance checks in the first six months of this year.

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