James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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195. To ask the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners will consider introducing a freephone telephone number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45247/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that it receives an average of 2.5 million calls per year and the volumes are such that it would not be cost-effective to provide a freephone telephone service. However, Revenue does keep its telephony infrastructure under constant review to ensure that it delivers the most robust and cost-effective service possible for taxpayers.

Up to recently, the 1890 LoCall service was considered the best option for delivering an effective high-volume telephone service at minimum cost. However, the service does incur additional charges for some customers that are imposed by their telephone service providers and which are outside of Revenue’s control. Revenue made a submission to the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) in 2017 expressing its dissatisfaction at the rates charged by service providers for these 1890 calls and supported ComReg’s proposal that the retail charge applicable should not exceed the retail charge that would apply had the caller used a standard telephone number.

To reduce the cost burden on customers, Revenue launched a new telephony platform on 26 September 2018 that optimises some of the most up to date technology available and which facilitates phone calls using standard telephone numbers that do not incur the range of charges currently applied by service providers to 1890 calls.

On a wider note, I am aware that Revenue has significantly enhanced its range of online services to reduce the need for customer telephone contact. This includes a new website www.revenue.ie which is specifically designed to help customers more easily find the information they are looking for. The information on the website is written in plain language and is easy to find. Revenue has advised me that the feedback to date strongly confirms that the new service is very effective and has been well received by the majority of users.