Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)

I raised a very important issue four weeks ago and it has remained unresolved in the interim. The Revenue Commissioners have refused to implement a recommendation of the ombudsman regarding the discrimination in taxation against two widows. The matter is of such importance that the ombudsman deemed it necessary to commission a special report and to set it before the Oireachtas, yet four weeks later nothing has happened. To put it crudely, giving the two fingers to the ombudsman and his staff sets a very dangerous precedent and undermines them and their work. Unless this matter is resolved immediately, we might as well abandon completely the office of ombudsman, which is the reason the matter is worthy of a special debate in this House. Given the seriousness of the matter, we need to find out exactly what is happening. If the Revenue Commissioners are to win we can forget the office of ombudsman.