Ireland’s revenue authority will have the power to seek details of any citizen who held a Swiss bank account over the past five years. It has confirmed it will impose taxes and penalties if tax on interest on the account has not been paid, the report said.

The report said it was unclear how much money will be brought back to Ireland as a result of the agreement. Finance minister Brian Lenihan confirmed that the State recently concluded negotiations with Switzerland on a Protocol to the Ireland Switzerland Double Taxation Convention.

All Irish citizens with bank accounts in Switzerland are obliged to pay tax on the interest they earn.

A number of countries have been pressing for greater access to details of Swiss bank accounts as they attempt to recover outflows of tax revenue. The UK government is close to concluding an agreement with the Swiss government. Last year, the Swiss and US governments locked horns over attempts by the US administration to get hold of Swiss bank account details of citizens using UBS; eventually, the governments agreed that UBS should transfer details on thousands of client accounts to the US to settle a civil tax case against the Swiss bank. Elsewhere, client data stolen from banks in Switzerland has been bought by the German government.