Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Finance the current strength of the customs personnel; the average number of checks carried out on a monthly basis; and the number of detections of use of illegal fuel. [16937/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that they are a fully integrated tax and customs administration and that it is not possible to disaggregate resources deployed exclusively at any given time on customs work. Revenue currently has approximately 2,000 staff engaged on activities that are dedicated to targeting and confronting non-compliance. These front-line activities include anti-smuggling and anti-evasion, investigation and prosecution, audit, assurance checks, anti-avoidance, returns compliance and debt collection.

The Revenue Commissioners' multi-annual budget 2015 to 2017 provides for an average annual whole time equivalent staff resource of 5,874. Revenue's overall staffing levels have reduced from a total of 6,581 full-time equivalents at the end of 2008 to the current level of 5,681. Notwithstanding this reduction, Revenue staff resources assigned to compliance activities have been maintained at around 2,000. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they are committed to ensuring that, despite the staffing reductions, enforcement work, will continue to be resourced to the maximum extent possible.

I am advised also that the average monthly number of checks carried out during 2014 in connection with the suspected illegal use of marked fuel was over 2,800. The number of detections of the illegal use of marked fuel in that year was 1,148.