The report reflects an exceptional year for Revenue. Against the backdrop of a fundamentally changed trading environment between Ireland and Great Britain, and the continued significant economic and social disruptions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, Revenue collected a record amount of tax and duty in 2021. Revenue also put all the necessary measures in place to effectively administer the changes to the Local Property Tax for the new valuation period which began on 1 November last and continued to play a significant role in the delivery of key Government supports to businesses as part of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Alongside the 2021 Annual Report, Revenue also published a number of other reports today, including research reports on Corporation Tax, Income Tax, VAT and VRT; summaries of the 2021 National Random Sampling Programme for marked mineral oil products and the results of the Tobacco Products Research Survey 2021. 

Report includes: • Seizure of drugs worth almost €115 million and tobacco products valued at over €67 million arising from our broad range of interventions targeting fraud, illicit trade, smuggling and organised crime.

During 2021, we continued our broad range of interventions targeting fraud, illicit trade, smuggling and organised crime. We seized over 5,700 kgs of drugs worth almost €115 million and made over 6,500 seizures of illicit tobacco products valued at over €67 million. We also seized almost 429,500 litres of illicit alcohol valued at €2.7 million and seized 601 vehicles for various offences.

P.42 We have primary responsibility for the prevention, detection, interception and seizure of controlled drugs intended to be smuggled or illegally imported into, or exported from, the State. Our drugs strategy supports Ireland’s national drugs strategy Reducing Harm, supporting recovery: A health led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017 – 2025. 24 We deploy a risk-based approach to our detection and intervention strategy to identify key players within the various strands of the illicit drugs supply chain. We work collaboratively with our national and international law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle core supply chains, including the seizure of product, and to develop and share intelligence.

Those involved in the illegal drugs trade use increasingly inventive and complex smuggling methods and concealment techniques and have the capability and resources to adapt their methodologies quickly. We continually monitor trends and developments in this regard and adopt a very flexible and agile response in terms of resource deployment and risk prioritisation. We work closely with An Garda Síochána, particularly the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, in joint investigations and operations. During 2021, we participated in 45 controlled deliveries of drugs which lead to 30 arrests, as well as 11 joint international operations with the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. We also work closely with the Health Products Regulatory Authority, the Irish Naval Service, and international bodies such as the Maritime Analysis Operations Centre-Narcotics (MAOC-N) in Lisbon, Europol, Interpol, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and law enforcement agencies in other countries.
During 2021, we made over 21,000 drugs seizures, totalling 5,741kgs with an estimated value of almost €115 million (Table 18, p.98).