Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

The Bill recognises the Revenue Commissioners' role as a criminal law enforcement agency whose role is to protect the Exchequer from fraud. Experience has shown that the lack of such access has been a hindrance in detecting certain cases of serious tax fraud and gathering the necessary evidence for the purposes of prosecution. This need is clearly justified and access to such information should improve the level of detection of serious tax evasion and gathering of the evidence necessary for criminal prosecution, and it will assist in depriving criminals of funds.

Modern telecommunications and the Internet are invariably utilised by those engaged in the type of illicit activities investigated by the Revenue Commissioners. For example, documents encountered by Revenue officers in the course of investigating cigarette smuggling in maritime freight where bogus bills of landing are used, oil laundering and the distribution of laundered oil-----