A tax settlement in the region of €25 million by one of Ireland's most successful building firms shows the effectiveness of the Revenue Commissioner, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today.
"It is showing the success of the system. It is showing the success of the powers that we have put in place ... are proving that they were working effectively," Mr Ahern told the Dáil.
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said the settlement by Bovale Developments was not a triumph for the Revenue but came about as a consequence of Flood/Mahon Tribunal investigations into payments for planning favours.
The company's owners Tom and Michael Bailey are Fianna Fáil benefactors and members who were found to have obstructed and deceived the Flood Tribunal.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
Mr Rabbitte agreed the Revenue had become more effective in recent years but said "a lot of this was going on for an entire generation under the very noses of the Revenue Commissioners for an entire generation and little action was taken at that time."
He also claimed there were insufficient resources allocated to auditing the construction industry, which he described as a "major locus of bogus subcontracting and widespread tax evasion".
Mr Ahern welcomed the settlement and said the current and previous Fianna Fáil governments had put in place the laws and procedures that lead to such settlements.
"As far as Bovale or any other company is concerned, I'm glad they were caught and that they had to pay up," Mr Ahern said.
Bovale recently abandoned its limited liability status, having recorded a loss to the end of June 2005 of €270,000.
The previous year, it was the most profitable property company in the State, recording a surplus of €69.17 million.
As an unlimited entity, Bovale is no longer obliged to file annual accounts with the Companies Registration Office.