Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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246. To ask the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners has a legal right to block a person's current account; if so, the circumstances under which this will be allowed and facilitated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2625/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the Deputy's reference to blocking a person's current account relates to the use of Attachment Orders by Revenue.

That being the case, the legal basis for the use of Attachment Orders is provided for by Section 1002 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (as amended). The Section gives Revenue the authority to instruct financial institutions to transfer funds, to the value of the outstanding debt, from any account held in the name of a defaulting taxpayer. It also provides Revenue with the authority to instruct any third party owing a debt to the defaulting taxpayer to pay those funds directly to Revenue.

Section 1002 does not provide for the blocking of accounts as indicated by the Deputy and Revenue has assured me that it does not instruct the financial institutions in this regard. Any such actions are a question for those bodies rather than for Revenue.

In regard to the deployment of its various debt collection/enforcement options, including Attachment, Revenue has assured me that before any such action is considered, the defaulting taxpayer is given every opportunity to engage and agree mutually acceptable arrangements in respect of the outstanding debt. The enforcement process only starts where there is no meaningful engagement by the taxpayer in seeking realistic solutions.

With specific regard to the use of Attachment, Revenue has confirmed to me that the power is normally only deployed where other enforcement options have failed to secure the outstanding debt. For example, during 2014 Revenue deployed Attachment in less than 5,000 cases out of a total of almost 41,000 cases where debt was enforced. Revenue has also assured me that it has strict guidelines in place, including authorisation at a senior level, to ensure Attachment is only used in appropriate circumstances.