The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General published yesterday is a truly depressing document. This State is quite properly proud of its recent growth record but it would appear that the upsurge in our economic performance has not been matched by any commensurate improvement in the level of public service. The C&AG report documents a lamentable catalogue of maladministration and incompetence across the public service. Some of those who have responsibility for public funds appear to have been, at best, less than assiduous and, at worst, downright reckless about very substantial sums. And, most depressing of all, there appears to be few grounds for optimism that there will be much in the way of an improvement in the management of public funds. Some of the mismanagement highlighted in the report beggars belief; the final cost of four swimming pools is up to six times more than originally estimated; the eventual cost of school building projects is twice the original estimate; a high-profile campaign against social welfare fraud succeeds in detecting more than 10,000 unlawful claims but the number facing prosecution actually declines to less than 60 cases. The Department of Social Welfare, meanwhile, is, apparently, content to write off some £7 million last year and £10 million in 1995 in monies which were paid in error or as a result of fraudulent claims. The report also confirms the impression gleaned from the recent McCracken Tribunal report that the Revenue Commissioners has been less than wholly effective in discharging its functions. The number of prosecutions for tax evasion and other irregularities remain at a derisory level - even though a random audit by the Revenue itself found that some 27 per cent of companies underestimated their tax liability. The Comptroller, Mr John Purcell, gets to the heart of the matter when he criticises the Revenue for failing to use the vast array of enforcement measures at its disposal. It is to be hoped that his report and the forthcoming Moriarty Tribunal - which will inter alia examine the effectiveness of the Revenue in the recent Dunne and Lowry scandals - will act as a catalyst for much needed change in the Commissioners' modus operandi. The public - or at least that portion of it outside the PAYE sector - will only respect the tax law when it is made abundantly clear that evasion will result in stiff fines and/or imprisonment. That said, there must also be a change in the political culture. It is not so long ago that a Fianna Fail-led government rewarded the tax cheats with an amnesty; it is difficult to expect the Revenue to be overly zealous in the pursuit of the tax dodgers when some in the political establishment are inherently sympathetic towards them. Recent opinion poll evidence, however, suggests that this kind of thinking is now increasingly out of kilter with the public mood. The public is now much less tolerant of those who are unwilling to pay their fair share of tax. The task facing the Government is straight-forward; it must ensure that the Revenue does its job in a rigorous and effective manner.