Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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181. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the fact that that no one has been prosecuted to date for the Ansbacher tax avoidance scandal; his plans to bring forward amending legislation that would make the potential for prosecution easier. [20846/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, because of the particular circumstances relating to the Ansbacher accounts and the stage at which they became known to the Revenue Commissioners, it has not been possible to prosecute any individual in relation to those accounts. The Ansbacher accounts ran from 1971 and the Irish business was wound up in the mid-1990s. It did not prove possible to prosecute any person for offences that may have been committed in relation to the accounts because, in general, in excess of 10 years had elapsed from the dates that the alleged offences occurred, up to the time investigations were completed. In this regard section 1078(7) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides that proceedings must be instituted within 10 years from the date of the commission of the offence.

In addition, a further difficulty for the Revenue Commissioners investigation was that very few original documents were available in relation to the Ansbacher accounts and there was no legal mechanism to compel Cayman Island entities to produce such documents.

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that they undertook detailed and extensive investigations into the operation of the Ansbacher accounts and the tax affairs of the Irish resident account-holders. This involved the extensive use of legislative powers requiring the production by financial institutions and other third parties of books, records and documentation relevant to the tax liabilities of the account-holders. They found the accounts system operated to be complex and secretive with Irish depositors funds held offshore and no record of the deposits in the State although the depositors had access to their funds in the State.

The Ansbacher investigations have to-date yielded total revenue of €112.71m from 142 persons. This yield is comprised of €49.05m tax and interest and penalties of €63.66m.

While I will of course, give careful consideration to any proposals that might be put to me in regard to prosecution related legislation, for evidential and fairness reasons, time limits are a feature of criminal and civil legal systems generally, and the 10-year limitation on bringing prosecutions provided for in the Taxes Consolidation Act is generally regarded as a balanced timeframe.

The Deputy may wish to note that I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that in 2012, there was an increase of 56% in the number of convictions for serious tax offences (to 25) and an increase of 79% in number of convictions for serious duty offences (to 25), which is an increase of 67% overall when compared to 2011.