Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will return to the agenda. I concur with Deputy Liam Twomey that Ireland is not a tax haven as we have clear laws and regulations in place. As Members of the Oireachtas, our role is to challenge at every opportunity and ensure rigour and transparency are applied. That is what the joint committee is doing today. There is a certain perception about the way in which the Irish Financial Services Centre Clearing House Group operates and it is useful to examine it in the cold light of day. Everybody welcomes the number of jobs being created in this area and we hope employment numbers in it will increase. The announcement last week that an additional 800 jobs would be created in my constituency of Dublin South East was very welcome. I thank Mr. Fraser for any role he may have played in securing these jobs.

I view my role in this House as one of trying to fix the mistakes of the past and ensuring they are never repeated. I am not questioning Mr. Fraser's integrity in saying the joint committee should question him at regular intervals. Are the minutes of meetings of the subgroups or documentation from such meetings submitted to the committee chaired by Mr. Fraser or the relevant Departments? It is important that a light is shone on this issue. The Oireachtas, specifically the joint committee, should have a role to play in this regard.

We heard in October that the Government intended to review the nature of the Irish Financial Services Centre Clearing House Group. Did any such review take place?