But what about taxpayers who have not been caught gaming the system but are simply challenging a Revenue assessment of their tax liability? The Government is ushering legislation through the Oireachtas that would fundamentally change this, leaving the decision to the discretion of the tax appeals commissioner hearing the case. “The terms of s41 (13) [of the 2015 Workplace Relations Act] require that all hearings shall be conducted otherwise than in public. The effect is that the prohibition on public hearings is removed and proceedings may, but not must, be heard in public.”But there is no such absolute ban on public hearings before the tax appeal commissioners; quite the opposite. The Irish Tax Institute argues, not unreasonably, that people may well confuse named tax defaulters with named challengers of tax assessments, with clear negative connotations.

Source: The Irish Times April 02, 2026 14:31 UTC