Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Finance the status of the Revenue Commissioner's investigation in holders of life policies here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18968/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I take it that the Deputy is referring to the investigation initiated by Revenue in 2005, focussing on the tax affairs of policyholders who used certain life assurance investment products to evade tax. I am advised that the following is the current position.

Prior to the commencement of the investigation into these Single Premium Insurance Policies, Revenue launched a voluntary disclosure initiative for policyholders who had tax issues associated with the policies to come forward to declare their liabilities. Persons taking up this disclosure opportunity, for which the closing date was 22 July 2005, could avail of a reduced penalty and avoid publication. Some €460 million has been collected through this initiative.

Following the final disclosure date, Revenue commenced the follow-up phase of applying for High Court Orders and this continued into early 2007. In its initial applications it sought information from insurance companies on policies where the sum invested was equal to or exceeded €50,000. The ensuing investigation into those policies has to date secured €29million.

Revenue is now seeking further Orders to obtain details on policies falling within the range of €20,000 to €50,000 and, as with the earlier phase, will be using this information to identify cases where policies have been used to evade tax.