Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland takes first place in the table in terms of its effective and actual corporation tax rates. There is a gap of a few percentage points to the next country. The Government - in which I am happy to serve as a backbench Member - puts great stock in the fact that our rate is so solidly banked at 12.5%. How important would it be for Ireland not to be seen to start an upward movement in this regard? Would it be acceptable to increase the rate by a certain amount or would corporations see such a move as the ending of something sacred? Would they be of the view that while Ireland's rate remains the lowest, the authorities here are prepared to increase it?