Watchdog concern at Revenue data access

THE Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has expressed serious concern over legislation giving the Revenue Commissioners power to access traffic details of people’s telephone, email and internet records.

The watchdog is concerned that under the Communications (Retention of Data) Bill 2009, published yesterday, Revenue will be able to seek these details for a wide range of crimes, from smuggling to tax offences.

The DPC said given that the original reason for these powers – stemming from a European Union directive – was to combat international terrorism, it could not see why Revenue was being granted these powers, along with the Garda and the Defence Forces.

“The Data Protection Commissioner has noted that the power to access telecommunications traffic data has been extended under the new bill to officers of the Revenue Commissioners investigating revenue offences,” said a spokesman.

“Given that the context and original purpose of the 2006 directive was to combat terrorism, the Data Protection Commissioner considers the proportionality of this extension of access powers to Revenue officials must be open to question.”

The commissioner Billy Hawkes has written to the Department of Justice about the matter.

Sources within the office said they were taken aback when Revenue were included: “It’s a totally new element – the right to access phone and email records when investigating revenue offences.”

The bill states that revenue offences are those defined in seven other acts, including Section 1078 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

“This covers a whole rake of revenue offences. This power is extremely wide,” said the source.

The section refers to offences such as willfully making incorrect returns, knowingly claiming relief not entitled to, failing to pay taxes, etc.

The data bill specifies that offences must be “serious offences”, capable of attracting sentences of five years or more. All the offences under Section 1078 can be tried on indictment, which can carry those sentences.

The DPC spokesman said they were happy with other elements in the new bill, such as restricting Garda powers to serious offences only and reducing the retention period from three years to two years.

A Revenue spokesman said: “The ordinary taxpayer has nothing to fear from these provisions which will not be used except in the exceptional circumstances of very serious Revenue offences.”

He said the powers would be used to combat crimes committed by organised gangs, such as “cigarette smuggling, oil laundering, alcohol fraud, cross-border VAT fraud and criminal (indictable) tax evasion”.

Speaking on RTÉ radio, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said: “In relation to Revenue Commissioners, it’s for very serious offences of drug smuggling, illegally importing goods, defrauding the State, cigarette or alcohol smuggling, for diesel laundering, for serious offences over five years.”