Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill which has been a long time coming. In 1662 Cromwell was not long gone from Wexford after he sacked it in 1649. This Bill should have been brought forward much earlier. The Revenue Commissioners are very good at their job, but as Senator O'Brien has said, on occasion they do get things wrong. Over 25% of appeals were overturned by Revenue itself. When people are appealing to an independent and objective office rather than going back to Revenue, perhaps the expectation is that even more cases may be overturned or more will be taken to appeal. The 26% figure could be higher but we will never know because we do not know how many people would be more likely to take an appeal when they can go to an independent office.

I welcome the matter of the appeals being made public but there are concerns around tax matters being private until they are concluded. If Revenue finds that somebody has done something wrong, perhaps unintentionally, and there is a finding against somebody, penalties and charges apply. However, in the number of appealed cases which were found to be correct, where the taxpayer is found to have done nothing wrong or where the case had gone against Revenue, I am sure some people would not like that information put out there. It is a space we need to consider. I understand there is an option for the appeal to be held in private. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could clarify this matter further.

The target of 90 days in which to make findings on appeals is welcome. A person may have a bill from Revenue and the clock is ticking. If the matter is dealt with within 90 days, whether it is in favour or against, at least the clock is no longer ticking and the person has their determination of what is due or not.

I welcome the transparency around the appointment of people to these important commissions, now and in the future, via the Public Appointments Service. The way things were done, where a person got a job because they were a friend of or knew someone, was not good practice That is old hat from an older era that no longer has a place in society. I am broadly supportive of this proposal. I was a bit surprised to see the Act went back to 1662.