The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has written to the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, seeking changes in the Finance Bill to tackle fraud and evasion. It has also expressed concern about the proposed tax changes for credit unions.

ICTU has called on Mr McCreevy to give the Revenue Commissioners new powers to investigate offshore accounts, given their widespread use to "defraud the state of due revenue," it says. "They should also be given the power to investigate the accountants and financial institutions who facilitate the establishment of offshore accounts as a means of evading tax," ICTU says.

It also calls for the setting up of a special division of the courts to deal with fraud and breaches of the tax law so that such cases can be fast-tracked through the legal system.

In a statement last night, Mr Peter Cassells, ICTU's general secretary, said new powers are also needed to stop the banks and financial institutions facilitating "the siphoning off of millions of pounds" from the legitimate economy. "To enforce these powers, a new watchdog agency should be established, either within the Central Bank or outside it." ICTU also hit out at accountants, saying the cyncial abuse of the tax system and financial regulations by some accountants makes a statutory code of conduct for the profession an urgent priority. "Accountants who fail to report cases of fraud and tax evasion to the Revenue Commissioners should be severely penalised under the new code of conduct," according to Mr Cassells.