Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

While I understand the Minister's arguments, I draw his attention to the fact that, until comparatively recently, the Revenue Commissioners have had limited interest in refunding overpayments. It was only after the political attention increased that Revenue became conscious of refunds. The perception exists that, while Revenue's systems are highly geared for collecting taxes, as is proper, they are not as good at returning money.

A recent survey conducted among tax advisers revealed an alarming level of discontent with delays in processing and I know from my constituents that the entire system comes close to implosion during January and February, when offices stop taking calls and queues grow lengthy. These issues are not routinely investigated by the Ombudsman because they do not come under the definition of unfairness in her code. No advocate seems to be employed to demand that Revenue, like any other service provider, must be ready to meet demand at peak times.

Situations should not arise in which people are told the telephone lines are closed or that they will have to queue for several hours. I understand why the Minister does not want to duplicate the duties of the Ombudsman, but a role is being missed in that regard. Perhaps if the Minister set out standards for matters such as unacceptable delays and asked the Revenue Commissioners to report on whether they were being met, that process could be begun. A vacuum currently exists and, while Revenue is moving to fill it, the needs of customers are not yet being met.

See this speech in context