Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In the context of amendment No. 53, I was astonished to hear the Minister of State refer to fair procedures and to fairness with regard to the commissioner having access to certain information. That is outrageous. We are referring here to taxpayers. It appears that we do not want to give the latter an advantage over the officials or the Department. That is the wrong base from which to start. We should be seeking to put in place fair procedures for taxpayers and ensuring that they have every advantage in the context of properly and legally complying with their taxation obligations. What is involved here relates to those obligations because rates are based on the valuations provided. Amendment No. 53 is completely inequitable. The idea that somebody is going to withhold information in order that he or she might make an appeal is terrible. What is proposed denies ratepayers access to fair procedures and completely hampers their right to a proper hearing of the evidence.

It removes fair procedures from the ratepayer and hampers his or her right to a proper hearing of the evidence. I would like the Minister of State to set out the section which specifies that new information can be provided. I have not read that in the section. As I read it, the reality is that new information cannot be provided on appeal. That is, in my view, extremely unfair. I cannot envisage how, as the Minister of State said, such events would happen to the detriment of other occupiers. It seems to be the case from what the Minister of State read out that there is a danger of ordinary citizens getting one over on the tax man. That is wrong. We are looking for ordinary citizens to have their right to have the proper valuation carried out and have every piece of information available to them, even if it arrives late or at an appeals stage. It should be noted that in a planning hearing with An Bord Pleanála it does not restrict itself to the file before the county council. This amendment should be opposed.