The Revenue Commissioners is to test the use of drones as part of its customs-enforcement activities later this year.
The tax-collecting body indicated the step as part of a recently published action plan for Civil Service reform, which also states it is moving forward with initiatives in the areas of intelligent automation and artificial intelligence.
A Revenue spokesman confirmed that pilot use of drone technology was being planned for the last quarter of the year and the first three months of next year “as a support to our enforcement activities”.
In addition to levying taxes, Revenue plays a role in detecting and intercepting smugglers of controlled drugs, illicit cigarettes and laundered fuel, as well as other shadow economic activity. The spokesman said Revenue monitors technological developments “with a view to harnessing the potential of new technologies to optimise the services we provide in a cost-effective way”.
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“Several customs administrations have identified the benefits of using drones for customs enforcement operational work and Revenue is aware of other Irish authorities which already have capabilities in this area,” he added.
Revenue said that further details on potential scale of use or timeline for deployment would be available following completion of the pilot scheme.
Tax authorities elsewhere in Europe have used drones, including in the Netherlands, where they have monitored the port of Rotterdam with night-vision cameras. They have been deployed in novel ways, including in Greece in 2018, where surveillance drones were used to spot violations on the island of Santorini where tourists were allegedly being taken on boat tours without getting receipts.
The Garda Air Support Unit has purchased 21 drones for evaluation, training and possible future operational use, with 10 members of the force having received formal training in drone operation and the regulations governing drone flights, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told the Dáil earlier this year.
Some €250,000 has been spent by the Garda on drones in advance of legislation allowing their use in policing operations.
Legislation passed last year will allow gardaí to use the drones for surveillance, missing people searches and surveying crime and collision scenes, and also in crowd control and during riots.
The Department of Transport has been tasked with developing a policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems to help guide the development of the area in Ireland, balancing the use of drones against safety, security and environmental aspects.
A consultation document produced by the department earlier this year outlined that the public and private sectors could use drones to boost productivity, improve services and support emergency responses, while acknowledging that there was a challenge to take advantage of the technology “while being responsive to legitimate concerns”.
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