Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 125: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on the fact that many financial institutions apart from National Irish Bank made settlements for DIRT not collected and that many other institutions made settlements much larger than the settlement from National Irish Bank. [33600/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that they conducted on-site deposit interest retention tax, DIRT, look back audits on 37 financial institutions during 1999 and 2000 and reported to the Committee of Public Accounts on the outcomes. The details are provided in the final report of the committee dated 3 April 2001. As a result of the look back audit programme, financial institutions made payments totalling €220 million to Revenue. These payments represented DIRT, which should have been deducted, together with the related interest and penalties. Four institutions made larger settlements than that made by National Irish Bank. In general the largest settlements related to the largest institutions.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 126: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on the fact that An Coiste um Chuntais Phoiblí in its inquiry into DIRT found that the kind of practices discovered in National Irish Bank were widespread in the industry. [33601/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Committee of Public Accounts conducted an inquiry into the administration of deposit interest retention tax, DIRT, and related matters during the period 1 January 1986 to 1 December 1998 and published two reports, one dated 15 December 1999 and the other dated 3 April 2001. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that their officers conducted on-site look back audits on the operation of DIRT in 37 financial institutions during 1999 and 2000 and reported on the outcomes of these audits to the committee. At the conclusion of the audit programme, financial institutions made payments totalling €220 million to Revenue. The committee commented on the results of the audits in its final report on the DIRT inquiry, which was published on 3 April 2001.

The payments made by the financial institutions represented DIRT, which should have been deducted, together with the related interest and penalties. While the focus of these audits was the DIRT position of the financial institutions, many bogus non-resident deposit accounts that belonged to taxpayers were identified in the course of the audit work and a follow-up programme to recover tax from the underlying taxpayers was also initiated.