The head of the Revenue Commissioners has said it has no desire to use its full weight against innocent victims of the recession.
Josephine Feehily said Revenue is fully aware of the current economic conditions but said businesses must engage early and openly with the Commissioners.
She also said that Revenue cannot act as bankers to businesses in trouble.
Ms Feehily said that a special investigation set up last year into offshore assets has so far yielded €19m from 98 cases.
She was speaking before the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee.
Ms Feehily also said Revenue is currently running a number of audits on directors and executives in the banking sector. She said that Revenue is keeping a 'close eye' on that sector.
Asked if an audit was being done in relation to Anglo Irish Bank, Ms Feehily said she could not comment on individual cases.
Ms Feehily also said that number of senior audit staff who have left the office over the last 18 months is having an impact on the numbers of audits Revenue is carrying out.
However she said she is not worried yet about the fall-off in the numbers of audits being done and said there are plans to hire more staff.
She also said that 33 audits were carried out on barristers in 2008, resulting in a yield of €930,000.
The biggest tax write off made in 2009 was for a debt of just under €3.5m. The business in question went into liquidation after initially thinking it could trade its way out of trouble.
In relation to tax offence convictions, she said a custodial sentence was handed down in two cases. Fines totalling €509,000 were also given.
Labour's Roisin Shortall said the figures did not represent much of a deterrent.
