Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil he was glad that Bovale, the construction company that made a record €25 million settlement with the Revenue Commissioners, had been caught and had had to "pay up".
The settlement, he said, "is to the credit of the Revenue Commissioners" and "as far as Bovale or any other company is concerned, I am glad it was caught and has to pay up".
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte had asked if the Taoiseach had taken action in the wake of the settlement.
"We thought we were in a new era but we now read of a tax settlement of €25 million, the largest in the history of the State, by a building company called Bovale Ltd, the principals of which are two prominent members of the Taoiseach's party. They are also prominent donors to his party and attendees at every significant Fianna Fáil occasion."
Mr Rabbitte asked: "What signal does it send out to tax-compliant citizens that the perpetrators involved in this episode are feted at every significant event held by the Fianna Fáil party?"
Mr Ahern replied: "Most members of this House are not against wealth creators, but we are against people operating against the laws of the land and the Revenue Commissioners."
People who abused the tax system, avoided or evaded tax or operated outside the tax code "are committing a serious offence against compliant taxpayers, not to mind against the law, and nobody should do that".
The Taoiseach pointed out that "individuals cases are not brought to the attention of the Government other than through the publication of cases by the Revenue Commissioners, a document we will all receive later in the year.
"I hope this case is true as it will show the success of the system and prove that the powers we have put in place, the laws we have enacted and the procedures that are operated are working effectively and that large settlements of tens of millions of pounds" are now being made.
Mr Rabbitte said the Revenue Commissioners' situation had improved, but the settlement was the result of a tribunal. The culture had changed but Revenue needed more resources to investigate the building industry "which is a major locus of bogus sub-contracting and widespread tax-evasion".
"It appears the unfortunate person who buys a house in this country has to pay a king's ransom in stamp duty, whereas no limits are put on the profits to be made by the big companies which build the houses. Despite that, they are not prepared to pay their due taxes." The people concerned in the settlement "are conspicuous at Fianna Fáil events, major donors to the party and prominent in the tent at the Galway races".
The Taoiseach replied that he was "not interested in rehearsing the political affiliations of the people on the Revenue commissioners' list".
Defending the Revenue Commissioners, Mr Ahern said that while tribunals carried out useful work, they did not collect taxes and "cannot operate settlements or examine the issues which can lead to huge settlements such as this one". It would be interesting to look at the last Revenue list, "as well as helpful in terms of highlighting some of the political affiliations of the people listed", the Taoiseach concluded.
