Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Commissioner and his staff. On the question of the CCCTB, we discussed earlier the Government's commitment on the six-months' Presidency. Has the Government given a specific commitment to the Commissioner to advance that project and to help that project along because within the State there would be resistance to it?

My second questions relates to a wealth tax. What are the views of the Commissioner on a real wealth tax? The Government is in the process of introducing a family home tax in this country to which there would be substantial resistance. I wonder what are his views on a real wealth tax on other forms of wealth taking into account total wealth.

During the Commissioner's opening remarks on sovereignty, he mentioned enhanced or greater co-operation. The last time I looked at the word "sovereignty", it meant having some level of control, having independence when one needs it and being able to determine one's own destiny. I find unusual his remark that enhanced co-operation does not limit sovereignty. Whereas there have been some positive experiences with the European Union, the one very negative contribution that would be shared, not totally across the board but by a large swathe of political opinion, is that the greater levels of co-operation and integrated have limited extremely the sovereignty available to the State. We, as parliamentarians, are aware of that because we are in the Chamber every day dealing with matters forwarded by Brussels, some of which are not so good. There has been considerable restriction in the amount of our manoeuvrability. The Commissioner spoke about it in the context of economics. He who pays the piper always calls the tune. In terms of economics, does one limit sovereignty by ceding it through enhanced co-operation or whatever one likes to call it?