Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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246. To ask the Minister for Finance when the Revenue Commissioners' public office on Cathedral Street, Dublin 1 will reopen to the public again as a walk-in public service without appointment necessary; if the public inquiry telephone numbers are now available again as normal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11256/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by Revenue that the operating structures of its public offices are constantly under review to ensure that taxpayers can avail of assistance as needed. Revenue’s provision of a full range of online, secure, and easy to use services, including an online communication channel, for taxpayers to manage their tax affairs, largely removes any requirement to attend public offices.

For taxpayers who, for a variety of reasons, may not have access to the online services, Revenue offers extensive support across its various telephone helplines and a full service for queries being received through the postal system. To supplement those services, the appointment service allows customers to schedule either a virtual or in person appointment at a time that suits them, eliminating queue waiting times that are a feature of any “walk in” service. In person appointments are available at the Revenue offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick and can be arranged by calling the Appointment Helpline on 01 738 36 60, from 9.30am to 1.30pm, Monday to Friday.

The PAYE Helpline operates from 9.30am to 1.30pm, Monday to Friday. Analysis of PAYE taxpayer phone activity indicates that most phone contacts are received during the morning with much reduced demand in the afternoon and these opening hours ensure that the service is there to meet demand while also making adequate resources available to provide timely replies to queries received through the increasing online channel and through the post. Revenue’s PAYE service is currently answering on average 3,200 calls and responding to 6,000 items of correspondence per day.

The current deployment of resources and the model of both the PAYE phone service and our online service reflects both demand levels from PAYE taxpayers and the need to provide an efficient and cost-effective service. Revenue continuously reviews its service channels and deploys its resources on an agile basis to meet demand.