Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My question is also a tax question and has been raised by Deputy Smith. Before the last American presidential election, there was much talk about Irish corporation tax. The US President referred to bringing jobs back to America because it was losing revenue and jobs as a result of several countries - Ireland was named as one of the countries - through which American multinationals were channelling profits generated elsewhere. I gather the practice is legal and therefore it is probably tax avoidance. One way or another, it was a big issue at the time of the election, but we have heard nothing since. Where is that now? Was it a pre-election thing? Are the members of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland concerned about it? I realise the difference between our headline rate and the effective rate is minimal compared with other countries, including France, which was keen under Sarkozy to get us to change it. Is it still a political issue? Is it an issue that the chamber members are genuinely concerned about at this stage?