Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

In 1958, the State took the decision to open up the economy and invite in foreign direct investment. Irish capitalism had failed miserably. The massive emigration of the 1950s at a time when the post-war boom was well under way internationally was a sure sign of that.

The State's economic policy has been based on that for more than 60 years. The cracks in it are really beginning to open up. First, the other capitalist states are saying Ireland has carved out an unfair competitive advantage by organising a tax haven. I am not the only person to say it. Joseph Stiglitz has said it. I think all ten of the top academic papers on this issue reference it. The European Parliament has said that by an overwhelming majority. We now have a tightening up, hence the 15%. Ten percent of the State's taxes is reliant on the top ten multinationals in the country. We saw with Twitter and the decisions taken by Elon Musk how precarious that can be. These are decisions made in boardrooms that the Irish State cannot control.

All of this points to the need for a new and different economic model. We will have an opportunity some other time but I will make the point that we do that by breaking with the for-profit model and system, not relying on foreign direct investment or Irish capitalism, which is still as weak as it was in the 1950s, comparatively speaking, and choosing an economy driven by State investment and run for the needs of the people rather than the profits of the few. That is a debate we will have another day.

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