Sir, - I am an inspector of taxes and I read Colm Keena's article: "Revenue denies low morale among staff (The Irish Times, July 4th) with great interest. Who said that this paper never publishes cheerful news?
Before I joined the Revenue in 1979 I wrote a master of arts dissertation under the supervision of Prof Denis Donoghue. I remember that he insisted that students of English literature must study words and key sentences in great detail. I tried to follow that advice when analysing the following quotation from a nameless Revenue spokesman: "Mobility of staff in an organisation of our size is to be expected but the low numbers of staff moving relative to our size is indicative of the opposite of low morale".
Excuse my ignorance, but is "the opposite of low morale" not commonly described as: "high morale"? Is the spokesman suggesting that the departure of four of our best higher grade inspectors of taxes in less than six months is "indicative of high morale?" Perhaps I might understand the subtlety of the spokesman if I used his grammar and logic to create similar sentences, such as the following: The fact that drinkers who complain about overcharging return to the same pub "is indicative of the opposite" of high prices. The fact that more than half of Irish Catholics go to Mass most Sundays "is indicative of the opposite to" a decline in religious belief.
The spokesman claims "these people are leaving because of the packages that are out there and the demand which exists for skilled staff". Really? Perhaps the spokesman can also explain why many of these higher grade inspectors of taxes declined several high- paid jobs before deciding to leave during the present and continuing crisis. Please do not insult the intelligence of the readers by responding, "What crisis? There is no crisis!" If a man drinks two bottles of whiskey a day and says, "Thank God I am only a social drinker", then most psychologists would say that alcoholic is "in denial". I am confident that the spokesman does not have a drink problem but I suggest that he does have a difficulty grappling with the real world which exists outside the battlements of Dublin Castle.
Commenting on the Bank of Ireland DIRT tax settlement the Public Accounts Committee chairman, Jim Mitchell, told RTE Radio: "I think we can now say with certainty that the DIRT inquiry would be the first inquiry that ever made a substantial profit." According to media reports, a team of six inspectors of taxes spent 10 months searching through documentation dating back 13 years before collecting £30.5 million from the Bank of Ireland. By my calculation, each inspector collected an average of 170 times his salary - not bad for 10 months' work. It is worth remembering that those inspectors would not have been able to work so effectively without the moral support of the Public Accounts committee. Many of the inspectors working in the various financial institutions were friends of mine before this letter was written. These inspectors who deserve our appreciation want to see more higher grade inspectors of taxes appointed; they want better training; and, above all, they want a top management in Revenue that is more aware of the low morale among inspectors and is prepared to take urgent action to improve morale.
We have an "Upstairs, Downstairs" style of management in Revenue where the top management behaves like aristocrats and the inspectors are treated like scullery maids and footmen. Where top management can behave like an absentee landlord demanding higher productivity but remain blind to the difficulties which inspectors experience. Of course there is nobody more blind than top managers who refuse to open their eyes to a problem.
Revenue's logo shows the gates of Dublin Castle and it seems that the Revenue spokesman has lowered the portcullis and raised the drawbridge. To borrow a phrase from this spokesman, his actions are "indicative of the opposite" of sound management practice. I will wait to see if the Revenue spokesman will sally forth to defend the indefensible. I will wait but I will not hold my breath while I am waiting. I will not expect a quick response and I will not be surprised if I receive no response. - Yours, etc.,
Joseph Marron, Rathmines, Dublin 6.