Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will restate a few points. I acknowledge that the reports were made by a UN committee. The Government also has a position. We cannot always take everything as read.

On the process and the vote the Deputy mentioned, I will provide exact clarity. It is important to recall that Ireland signed up to the OECD two-pillar solution in October 2021. We intend to follow through on our commitment in that regard. From our perspective, it is critical that the emerging UN process, which the Deputy outlined, and the OECD process are complementary and that the work at the UN does not undermine the work of the OECD as it enters its final phase before delivery. This is crucial to achieving something. Do not get me wrong - votes for the sake of votes are important. However, work is under way at the OECD. We want to make sure that it is completed in order that what the UN is looking for can be done in the right sequence and that we can deliver a co-ordinated impact to ensure that there is no duplicity or undermining of work. That is not an unfair position for the Government to hold.

It is worth noting what has been achieved in the past decade on the base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, project, in the context of tackling aggressive tax planning and removing mismatches. We recognise that the UN framework convention will be important in helping all member states to achieve the strategic development goals and domestic resource mobilisation. We are committed to continued engagement in order to achieve that. We look forward to constructive co-operation between the UN and the OECD in order that they can leverage each other's strengths in a mutually beneficial way. They should not be seen as exclusive processes, but one came before the other. We should let the OECD finish its work and then allow that to be fed into the process.

The full transcript of my speech and additional information will be sent to the Deputy's office. I am more than happy to engage with her by direct correspondence in order to follow up.

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