Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, am happy to speak today on the Paradise Papers.

Some weeks ago, I raised the matter of our banks' predatory behaviour with respect to tracker mortgages during Leaders' Questions with An Taoiseach. As I stated at that time, I believe it important to speak on this because such episodes as the tracker mortgage scandal reveal where the real centres of power lie in this State.

The position that there is one law for the rich and another law for the rest of us has only been compounded by the revelations contained in the so-called Paradise Papers. Unprecedented levels of tax evasion or aggressive tax avoidance have been uncovered. It is simply staggering to see the scale of the problem, the international complicity and the entire tax system that has been built up to allow this happen with a veneer of legality.

Let us imagine, for example, if we turned on the news tonight and it was shown that someone had walked into a bank and stolen €50 million. We all would be shocked and stunned, and yet this kind of thing is happening every day of the week with respect to the large financial institutions, quite simply and without violence, from within. They do not have to walk in at all - they are inside, deep in the boardrooms - and they robbing us all blindly. They simply walk in, as I said, and manipulate tax codes to such an extent that tens and hundreds of thousands and millions of euros go missing or unpaid. It is obscene.

Prior to the American War of Independence, their rallying cry was "No taxation without representation". That principle has now been completely reversed. Indeed, it is clear that all of those who paid little or no taxation have all the representation, and that has been alluded to by many speakers here this morning. They have access to and, indeed, control the levers of power and have rights that an ordinary working person could not dream of.

In my statement some weeks ago, I also said that during the 2016 debate in this House on the Panama Papers, the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, stated that he was bringing forward legislation to enable tax defaulters to make a qualifying disclosure to Revenue. The Minister went on to state that defaulters who have used offshore accounts or assets in their evasion "will find themselves in a very difficult position if they do not come forward quickly to regularise their affairs with Revenue". They were neither shaking in their shoes nor afraid of being reprimanded following that statement. I am still unclear as to how many of these defaulters have found themselves in that situation. Very few, I would say. Clearly, this is not happening. They know, and they are laughing all the way to the bank.

Institutional tax avoidance still appears to be rampant in this State. Mr. Colm Keena, in The Irish Times, has reported that AIB, Ireland's largest bank of which we own 90%, continued to target Irish customers who wanted to avoid paying tax after the bank had been bailed out at a cost to the public of €7 billion, a cost that our grandchildren and future generations will pay. They treat us like this with impunity. It is sickening. It beggars belief that AIB can do that. We were called here late at night in September 2008 to save them from ruin on the basis of the lie told to us that there would be no money in the ATMs the morning after when there was a Ponzi scheme and all the bondholders the bank had that we are paying off were insured. They had insurance bonds. They were paid by the taxpayer and their bonds are untouched. Their insurance premiums would not even be raised because there was no claim.

Mr. Keena went on to state that the report, based on the leaked files from the Isle of Man offices of offshore law firm, Appleby, revealed Government-owned AIB refused to give the Revenue Commissioners access to the data on its offshore customers when responding to a court order.

12 o’clock

The Revenue Commissioners had to get a court order and the bank refused. What level of contempt, arrogance and blatant disrespect for lawmakers, never mind taxpayers, does that show, but what do we do? We pat them on the back, go play golf with them and invite them in to the Minister's office for talks. It is unbelievable. One would not read it in a crime novel.

For most people outside listening to this debate and most of us here, the ins and outs of the international tax system are a complete mystery. It has been deliberately designed to be complex and hard to scrutinise. What is not hard to understand, however, is that these episodes reveal a huge gaping lie at the heart of our democracy which was fought for so dearly. It is a huge gaping untruth and falsehood. We are coming up to the celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the War of Independence, yet these are the shenanigans and corrupt practices being engaged in. This is the system we have built. Many noble men and woman fought and gave their lives for this country, yet this is what we have within a century. It probably started half way through the century. Look at the level it is at. It is unbelievable.

The massive double standards in this arena absolutely infuriate people. In the meantime, the Taoiseach makes great play out of acting the tough guy in dealing with welfare fraud, but yesterday the head guy in the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection said it was unnecessary and unworthy. The Taoiseach was out with his pictures. He said, "Name them and shame them," and he was out naming and shaming. I saw the picture of him standing with the placard - hashtag #Leo. Where was he when the banks were doing it? Perhaps I missed it, but I did not see him outside the headquarters of AIB or Bank of Ireland having any photo taken with a placard with helpline numbers for people to call. There was no hashtag #Leo either. I would not expect him to go outside today because it is a little too cold for him. He might want his winter woollies, but I have never seen him or any Taoiseach or Minister for Finance challenge the shenanigans ongoing in the banks. We are like a broken record in talking about it, but nothing is changing and the public are growing very tired and weary. Is it any wonder that ordinary people have completely lost faith in the sincerity of the Government to radically address these issues? There is no legislation whatsoever dealing with the banks. There is no appetite to introduce it and that is the way the system has been built.

In reply to a parliamentary question tabled by my colleague, Deputy Michael McGrath, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform said, "I am informed by Revenue that it is aware of, and actively examining, the information and allegations currently being published by various media outlets that originate from the “Paradise” papers". It is aware of and actively examining the information and allegations, but what will happen about them? The answer is sweet you know what. I will not say it here and if I was to do so, the Ceann Comhairle would be very distressed. It is pathetic. It is unworthy of the words I would use to describe it. The Minister went on to state in the reply:

Revenue is determined that any tax evasion identified in relation to Irish taxpayers will be thoroughly investigated. Where tax evasion is uncovered Revenue will seek to have the maximum sanctions applied up to and including criminal prosecutions.

Every week the names of tax defaulters are published in the newspapers. The Minister of State has seen the names of people in his constituency on the list. To be fair to many of them, they are not tax defaulters. They may have run late in making their tax returns for some reason or other. Most of the headline sum is made up of penalties and interest payments, yet when farmers cannot be paid the grants they are rightly owed, the Minister of State's colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine tells us that it is a computer glitch or that wrong information was put into the computer. The farmers affected will not receive interest and there will be no penalties imposed on the Department. It is a wrong and disgusting system. I do not read the names because I do not want to read about the misery of others. The vast majority are decent people. Perhaps things went wrong for them for whatever reason or they were late paying or had health issues. There is very little mercy shown by Revenue when one is self-employed. In this instance, we are going to apply the maximum sanctions, up to and including criminal prosecution. I wonder when that will happen. I imagine they are shaking in their boots having moved to other jurisdictions and afraid that they will be hauled in and arrested. There is not much chance of that happening.

The Minister stated that, if instances of aggressive tax avoidance were to emerge, all such instances would be rigorously investigated and challenged by Revenue. It is pathetic that he had to make that woolly statement. He continued: "Where anti-avoidance legislation can be applied to recover tax avoided through the use of unacceptable tax avoidance practices and schemes, Revenue will seek to apply such legislation with a view to recovering any Irish tax avoided, together with all associated interest and tax avoidance surcharges." That is woolly and flowery language. Revenue "will seek" to do its best, but if we owe it anything, we will receive letters, at the bottom of every one of which there is a mention of a prison sentence. These letters are sent to decent taxpayers and small employers, be they shopkeepers, undertakers, hairdressers, etc. They all have to pay their taxes, rightly so. As Deputy Jim O'Callaghan mentioned, we do not mind paying our taxes in order to have a better society.

The Minister concluded by stating:

Revenue's work in the area of identifying offshore tax evasion has been and continues to be a priority. The international environment has changed significantly in the years since Revenue started to investigate offshore bank accounts and other offshore assets. Tax authorities worldwide now co-operate on a much wider and more intensive basis in investigating those who hide their profits or gains offshore than they did in the past.

I will not believe it until I see it happen, but why was this not always done? Why must we be told that this work is increasing?

I am sure all of this has the international cartels shaking in their boots which they are dusting down for the Christmas parties and to hell with the people in Éire. Let the Croppies lie down. The cartels are above the law. Not just for years but for decades we have been saying we will vigorously pursue them. Why are we not pursuing them? How many people have been arrested, brought before the courts, tried - they are entitled to a fair trial - and sentenced? Time and again, they have managed to evade public sanction. We must ask, therefore, whether there is any serious or genuine attempt to end these practices. One aspect is for sure - the people whom I represent, like my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group, are sick to the back teeth of picking up the tab for the bankers and the super wealthy. Ordinary people suffer and pay for the sins of others, while the rich get away scot free.

I was out for a while, but I have not seen the Minister for Finance in the Chamber once today. That shows how much interest he has in the Paradise Papers. The Ministers of State, Deputies Michael D'Arcy and David Stanton, have been present and I am not blaming either of them.

In 2007 a total of €13.6 billion was collected in income tax. In 2016 that figure was €19 billion. The extra €6 billion was squeezed out of ordinary people - the small farmer or business person and everyone else who cares. It would be squeezed out of children also if the Government could get away with it. A previous Government tried to put a tax on children's shoes. I remember seeing on television the Taoiseach of the day kneeling in front of the late Jim Kemmy begging him to vote for it. The Government is robbing people blind, but those mentioned in the Paradise Papers are laughing. They are innocent bystanders, mar dhea.

AIB has refused to obey a court order. What would happen if any of us did not obey a court order? Last week the Ceann Comhairle was almost summonsed to appear in court on behalf of the House by former Deputy Joe Costello to ensure legislation to change constituencies would be introduced. The Ceann Comhairle had to attend business meetings and a defence had to be entered. We have to respect the law. Even the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission has to respect the law, but AIB can flout it and give it two fingers, four fingers or 20 if it had them. I am not blaming its front-line staff like tellers, whom one cannot even see in banks anymore. One would want to be a robot as it is machine after machine after machine. Old people are not wanted inside banks which do not want to do anything other than fleece people constantly and create more Ponzi schemes.

Where are the public interest directors? They are getting salaries for nothing. In parliamentary question after parliamentary question I asked the former Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, whether they had any responsibility. He finally told me, "No." What are they there for so? Is it just to have a spin to Dublin, receive travelling expenses, have a good dinner and perhaps a Christmas dinner or a Christmas night out and then go home? It is a scandal. They are supposed to be public interest directors, but they are not. Remove them or do not give them the name. They might as well be at home with their children, playing golf or whatever else.

That the bank would refuse to obey a court order beats Banagher, as the fellow said. Ordinary people have to work and scrounge to pay their taxes. People do not mind paying a fair amount if they get services in return, but the increase since 2007 has been savage.

The two men behind me here, Deputies Michael Collins and Danny Healy-Rae, have to organise a bus next week to bring people who are almost blind to Belfast to get operations that they cannot get in the Republic without waiting for three or four years. This is a democracy. This is the system people fought for in the War of Independence. The Government should be ashamed of itself. The circumstances should shame it, but it has no shame anymore. If it had any shame the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, would be here this morning. It has no shame and no respect for what people are doing out there.

I do not want to blame the Minister present, who is a decent enough person, but what is happening is a result of the system in place. We have to change that system and make the Secretary Generals accountable. Ministers come and go and new Ministers arrive. The TV programme "Yes, Minister" rings fairly true, and that is more than 20 years old. We all know that the system is in charge. Senior public servants are in charge, and they have no notion of relinquishing their power. We saw that with the banking regulator. What did he do? He got a big pay-off. We brought a mercenary into the Bank of Ireland and he is on his way again. That is the kind of thing that is done, and it will be done again. Why not, when the people allow it to happen? Something is going to have to bring the Government to heel. People are educated now, they have a lot of information and there are worldwide associations . They are waiting for the Government in the long grass. I have said this to the Minister on previous occasions. Some members of the former Government were caught in the long grass in the last election, but some were like the hare, hiding under tufts of grass, and were not rooted out. They will be rooted out on the next occasion. They deserve to be rooted out for not representing the people and not doing the job they were elected to do under our Constitution, which was fought hard for by the men in the GPO.

See this speech in context