2026-04-21

235. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his response to concerns regarding changes to rules governing hearings at the Tax Appeals Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27129/26]

My question concerns the proposed changes to hearings of the Tax Appeals Commission, particularly the removal of the taxpayers' automatic right to a private hearing. It will instead become a matter of discretion for the commissioner. Is the Tánaiste concerned that this change will deter taxpayers from exercising their right to appeal a Revenue assessment?

I thank both Deputy Brennan and the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach for their engagement on this matter. The revised general scheme of the finance (tax appeals and fiscal responsibility) Bill was published in November of last year. Head 5 of the general scheme concerns necessary amendments arising from the 2021 Supreme Court judgment. In this case, the Supreme Court held that the fact that all hearings before an adjudication officer were not held in public was inconsistent with the Constitution. A number of amendments are necessary to ensure the Tax Appeals Commission complies with that judgment. It is important to say that the proposed changes will not remove the possibility of private hearings at the Tax Appeals Commission. Appeals commissioners will have discretion on whether to accept a request for an appeal to be heard in private, but they must consider whether privacy is necessary for that appeal to proceed. As such, there will remain the option of a private hearing where this is necessary for the appeal to proceed on a fair and just basis. I can think of many examples where it would be necessary for an appeal to be in private. The finance (tax appeals and fiscal responsibility) Bill remains under pre-legislative scrutiny at this time. I assure the Deputy that we will consider the matters raised by stakeholders – I have met a number of them through the Irish Tax Institute - and those of the members of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach in advance of publication of the Bill. The proposed Bill seeks to give appeals commissioners discretion to direct whether an appeal hearing is held in public or in private. This amendment is being proposed based on advice received from the Office of the Attorney General. It is anticipated that a greater number of appeals will be heard in public following the enactment of this Bill. However, appellants will still be able to request that an appeal is held in private. The grounds for that will include maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information and protecting an individual's right to respect for their private and family life. As I stated earlier, I am open to further engagement on this. I do not wish to prejudge what the pre-legislative scrutiny might say but I imagine it may require further legal engagement with the Office of the Attorney General. If there is a way of nuancing this or providing further clarity, I am very open to that because I want to get this right. I must, however, be truthful about the Supreme Court consideration. I am open to engaging and trying to get this right. I look forward to the report from pre-legislative scrutiny.

The Tánaiste will appreciate that the right to challenge a Revenue assessment is a fundamental protection for every taxpayer, but this right has little value if exercising it carries an unacceptable personal or commercial cost. If public exposure alone is enough to deter a taxpayer from pursuing a legitimate appeal, we risk undermining the entire system. It is worth noting that 20% of determinations of the Tax Appeals Commission were found in favour of the appellant. Those taxpayers were of course correct to appeal. Under the proposed change, they would likely forgo their right to do so. Is the Tánaiste able to confirm whether the Department plans to carry out any assessment of the impact of these changes on taxpayers’ rights before this is progressed further?

The position as of now is that we have been endeavouring to comply with the Supreme Court judgment. Following that judgment, the view from the Office of the Attorney General was that there were proposals that we needed to make changes to the tax appeal system, specifically around the request for appeals to be held in private as well as the determination of appeals in the absence of a hearing. It is important that there are clear safeguards in place and clear grounds that an appeals commissioner must take account of. No one wants their sensitive and private information in the public domain; I understand that. There are issues that could cause harm to the public interest, such as sensitive information or information relating to public order and national security. The anticipation is not to have a significant jump in appeals being heard in public, nor do we wish to make it a deterrent. The right to appeal is important. The Revenue Commissioners have significant power and there must be a right to appeal. While I do not wish to pre-empt the process, from following the hearings and listening to what is being said during the pre-legislative scrutiny process, including from stakeholders such as the Irish Tax Institute, I hope to give further consideration to this Bill, which includes engaging further with the Office of the Attorney General from a legal point of view to determine whether there is an ability to nuance further. I have to be cognisant of the Supreme Court judgment, however.

The Tánaiste might appreciate that there is potentially a significant and expensive unintended consequence of this. As he is fully aware, Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for multinational investment depends significantly on our tax policy, particularly the certainty and fairness we apply to taxation matters. The Tánaiste may be aware that a risk review of 20 EU member states showed that all provided rights to private tax appeal hearings. The changes proposed in Ireland would leave us very much exposed as an outlier. For multinational companies weighing up where to invest, the confidentiality of their business affairs and tax proceedings matters greatly. A system that risks public exposure for disputing a Revenue assessment is unlikely to be viewed favourably by these multinationals. Given the magnitude and importance of corporation tax receipts to our public finances, how has the Tánaiste considered the significant risk to Ireland’s reputation as a competitive tax jurisdiction if this change to our tax appeals process is progressed?

Obviously, making sure Ireland remains a competitive location for foreign direct investment, FDI, is an important consideration. I will reflect further on that on foot of the Deputy raising it. In looking at what other parts of the world do, we see that Canada, England and Australia operate in a similar environment to what the current legislation, as currently drafted, proposes for our tax appeals system. New Zealand is an exception where tax appeals are not open to the public. Across the EU, there is a significant variety across tax appeals bodies but it is certainly not uncommon to have a system where appeals are public in the first instance and then held in private at the discretion of an appellant for a stated reason. In 2025, 1,192 new appeals were received and 1,286 cases were closed. A total of 237 appeals were scheduled for hearing in 2025, of which 93 subsequently proceeded. It is very common for appeals to be settled, withdrawn or consolidated with other appeals, or indeed, dismissed in advance of any hearing taking place. We will give this further consideration. We will take the recommendations seriously from pre-legislative scrutiny. However, the question is how we can be compliant with the Supreme Court ruling and how we get that balance right.