Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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534. To ask the Minister for Finance to outline the minimum time period between revenue issuing a notice or assessment and revenue issuing a request for payment that gives revenue the power to use enforcement measure without further notice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46093/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Irish tax system operates on a self-assessment basis, where the onus is on taxpayers to meet their obligations for filing and paying their taxes correctly and on time. Revenue’s goal is to ensure that all taxpayers and businesses meet their tax obligations in a timely manner and pay liabilities as they fall due. The due date for payment of taxes is set out in the various tax acts, for example, the due date for VAT payments is the 19th of the month following the end of the two monthly VAT period, for payroll taxes it is the 23rd of the month (for ROS filers) following the end of the month. In 2019, Revenue developed and enhanced its Debt Management System (DMS) to improve its collection performance with a view to ensuring tax is paid as it falls due, however, as the Deputy may be aware, Revenue suspended enforcement action in March 2020 and the Tax Debt Warehousing (TDW) scheme was legislated for in July 2020.

With the closure of the TDW and the proactive management of that legacy debt, I am advised by Revenue that it is deploying DMS with a view to ensuring tax is paid on time and in accordance with the law. This has led to a significant improvement in timely compliance. For example, at end July 2025, Revenue has advised that payment compliance rates were at 99% for both large and medium cases and 92% for all other cases. This shows that the vast majority of taxpayers pay the right amount of tax at the right time.

The period of time between the debt being due and Revenue pursuing the debt by way of enforcement measures will depend on the level of engagement by the taxpayer. However, in general, as part of Revenue’s standard debt collection procedure, where current taxes become due, a request for payment will issue shortly after the due date has passed. Revenue will provide the taxpayer with details of the tax(es) due and request payment. This request for payment outlines the consequences of continued non-payment and affords the taxpayer up to 10 days to engage.

The majority of taxpayers want to do the right thing by paying their taxes on time and, in many cases, on receipt of this initial notice, the customer will either make full payment for the overdue tax or contact Revenue to agree the payment of the tax within a mutually acceptable timeframe, at which point no further action is required. However, in the absence of customer engagement, a Final Demand issues allowing another 7 days for the customer to engage. Where there is continued lack of engagement from the customer in response to the Final Demand the case is escalated for enforcement action.

I am advised that Revenue updated its systems in July 2025 to allow for notifications to be generated to the ROS inbox of Agents each week where a client has been issued a Demand in the previous week or a Final Demand notice that day. This will support agents in monitoring compliance issues and assisting their clients to resolve the issue before it escalates further.

Revenue’s clear preference is to work with taxpayers experiencing temporary cash-flow difficulties and to identify and agree mutually acceptable solutions in preference to deploying debt collection or enforcement sanctions. However, where there is no meaningful engagement by the taxpayer, then Revenue has no alternative but to use its debt collection and enforcement options to protect the Exchequer and maintain a level playing field for the vast majority of citizens who pay their taxes in full and on time.

Revenue has a strong track record of successfully working with individuals and businesses who engage early to resolve payment difficulties and, in most cases, a mutually satisfactory solution is found without resorting to debt collection/enforcement measures. For example, taxpayers can enter into a Phased Payment Arrangement to pay off their debt in instalments over a period of time.