2006 tax revenue €3.7bn above govt expectations

The amount of taxes collected in Ireland was up 15% last year, according to the latest annual report from the Revenue Commissioners.

A total of €45.5bn was collected, €6bn more than in 2005 and €3.7bn more than the Government had estimated in its budget.

Almost €120m of last year's figure was collected through special investigations into tax evasions scams.

There were also seven convictions for serious tax and duty evasions during the year.