Whistleblowers who reported suspected tax dodging by their employers earned Revenue an extra €1.2 million last year, according to a new report.
The Protected Disclosure Act, which gives legal cover to anyone reporting possible wrongdoing by their employer to State authorities, includes tax and customs evasion.
Revenue said in a report published on Monday that investigations prompted by such disclosures “yielded over €1.2 million in additional taxes and/or duties for the Exchequer in 2024″.
They also resulted in new tax registration, debt collection through phased arrangements and publication of the businesses’ names in the quarterly tax defaulters’ lists, the report adds.
In 2024, Revenue received 930 reports through its protected disclosure channels, against 45 the previous year.
Of these, 171 met the criteria required for them to be considered protected disclosures, up from 31 in 2023.
Revenue believes that its publication of a new online protected disclosure form contributed to the increase in the number of reports last year.
The report explains that once Revenue receives a report through this system, staff assess it to determine if it should be considered a protected disclosure.
The remaining 759 reports did not meet the criteria as they mostly related to tax evasion that individuals had not encountered at work.
“As such, the information was referred to the relevant Revenue division for appropriate action on that basis,” says the Protected Disclosures Report 2024.
Revenue received five internal reports, made by its own staff on suspected tax or customs wrongdoing within Revenue itself, last year.
The organisation’s protected disclosures group closed one case after determining that there was no evidence of wrongdoing. The group was continuing to assess the other four on December 31st. All were received in the final three months of 2024.
Protected disclosures are reports made by workers employed by a business, individual or organisation that include information about potential wrongdoing related to tax, duty or customs controls.
Leeann Kennedy, Revenue’s director of internal audit, is a “prescribed person” under the act to receive protected disclosure reports.
On Monday, she said that the tax authority welcomed all reports of information regarded suspected tax noncompliance or evasion.
“Workers who provide information to Revenue under the framework of the Protected Disclosures Act are afforded a range of important legal protections,” she said.
“Revenue will always safeguard the worker’s identity. Additionally, the act prohibits any behaviour or action that disadvantages or penalises the worker for speaking up about the potential wrongdoing.”
