asked the Minister for Finance the amount of money still outstanding in unpaid taxes; and the action, if any, which he has taken to speed up collection of these amounts.

I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, in the wake of the recent tax amnesty, the major task of re-evaluating the status of the residual arrears in every case is under way. This exercise is taking place concurrently with a rigorous and accelerated pursuit of current taxes and will therefore take some time to complete. When its status is determined, a decision will be taken in each case on the most appropriate method of enforcing collection of the amount due and action will be initiated accordingly. However, until all cases have been reviewed, it will not be possible to establish the aggregate amount of money still outstanding in unpaid taxes.