asked the Minister for Finance the reason an overtime ban has been imposed on staff in the Revenue Solicitor's Office in Dublin Castle; the impact this move will have on cases due to be taken to court for nonpayment of taxes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

An overtime ban has not been imposed in the Revenue Solicitor's Office. However, in view of the Revenue Commissioners' efforts to keep overtime generally in Revenue to within the amount allocated, the working of overtime is not sanctioned unless it is shown to be absolutely necessary.

Could the Minister say what he means by "unless it is shown to be absolutely necessary", in view of the fact that one of the Revenue Commissioners, speaking to the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts, said that £614 million, duly assessed appealed and so forth, was still outstanding and unpaid? Could the Minister say that the Revenue Solicitor's Office are dealing adequately with this enormous problem of unpaid taxes and bringing the appropriate cases to court to ensure their payment?

The factors giving rise to amounts of taxes outstanding and unpaid derive from a great many other things apart from the amount of the overtime worked in the Revenue Solicitor's Office. I am quite happy that the provision which we have made for overtime in the office of the Revenue Commissioners in general is adequate for this year and that applies, in particular, to the Revenue Solicitor's Office.

Could the Minister assure the House that the Revenue Solicitor's office are at least as determined and assiduous in the collection of these taxes as the local authorities are in the collection of water charges and bringing these cases to court?

That seems to be a separate question altogether.

I am happy to say that I can assure the Deputy that the Revenue Solicitor's Office are quite assiduous in their attention to their duties. If the Deputy took the trouble, which he does not seem to do very often, to speak to a cross-section of self-employed people, he would find that that is the case.

Does the Minister agree with the chairman of the Revenue Commissioners who appeared before the Public Accounts Committee in relation to the difficulty of getting in back taxes?

I am sorry, the Deputy will have to be a little more specific.

The Minister will have to read the statement. Everybody else has. It has been commented upon publicly.

The statements dealt with a great deal more than the particular point which the Deputy raises.

Does the Minister agree with that particular point?

No. The Deputy is now pulling the long bow in coming to that conclusion.

Obviously, the Minister is in disagreement with the chairman of the Revenue Commissioners.

So the Minister agrees with that?