Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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210. To ask the Minister for Finance the process followed by the Revenue Commissioners when registering a charge and-or judgment against a person's property for unpaid taxes; if he will confirm if the taxpayer is notified by letter at the commencement of this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10268/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that it has a strong focus on making sure every taxpayer and business complies with the responsibility to pay the right amount of tax, including interest and penalties where due, in full and on time. This is an appropriate and correct focus for Revenue and one that I fully endorse. Any delay in the collection of tax that is properly due adds to the level of Government borrowing and public debt interest and confers an unfair competitive advantage on non-compliant businesses.

Revenue assures me that its strong preference is to work with viable businesses or taxpayers suffering temporary cashflow difficulties to agree a mutually acceptable solution rather than deploying debt collection/enforcement options. Revenues commitment in this regard is clearly evidenced by the fact that it granted almost 9,000 phased payment arrangements in respect of over €120m of debt during 2014 rather than using debt collection/enforcement action to secure the liabilities.

Where debt collection/enforcement action becomes necessary to secure an outstanding debt, the Revenue caseworker firstly writes to the defaulting business or taxpayer demanding that the liability be paid within a specified timeframe, which is normally seven days. The final demand letter also clearly warns that the consequence of continued non-compliance is referral of the debt to enforcement. Revenues first line debt collection/enforcement options for the majority of cases are Sheriff and Solicitor action and when a case is referred, responsibility for any future negotiation is delegated to the collection agent.

Once a case is referred for debt collection/enforcement, the Sheriff or Solicitor writes to the taxpayer or business offering a final opportunity to agree a mutually acceptable solution. Where no solution can be agreed, the Sheriff or Solicitor then seeks to collect the outstanding amounts, including costs, in accordance with the various legal powers available to them.

Solicitor (Court) action is used to secure judgment against a defaulting business or taxpayer. The judgment, which confirms the debt before the Courts, can be made public and can also be used by Revenue to place judgment mortgages against any property (owned by the business or taxpayer) to the value of the outstanding debt. Judgments are also used as part of the proceedings associated with Bankruptcy, Forced Sale of property and committal to prison, though Revenue only applies such sanctions in the most egregious or intransigent cases. In all cases where judgment is sought, the business or taxpayer is notified by way of Court summons.

Finally in regard to notification of judgment mortgages, Revenue has confirmed to me that it is the responsibility of the Property Registration Authority to inform the business or taxpayer that such a charge has been put in place.