Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. There is a Council of Europe agreement on this but I do not believe that has been tested in the courts in the context of whether what we are discussing can happen. Tax authorities and governments in many countries regard this as an important issue. That said, I understand there is no legal basis for it. That is one of the reasons the OECD has been, quite rightly, exerting pressure on countries to conclude these agreements.

Our trade with Ukraine amounts to €70 million, which is not a colossal amount. I visited Ukraine to sign the agreement and deal with a number of issues which are the subject of several reports in today's newspapers. While there, I was struck by the low level of trade between our two countries. There are enormous opportunities for trade between Ireland and Ukraine. The latter was part of the old Soviet Union and its economy is rapidly improving. It is an emerging economy in the eastern part of Europe with which we must have very strong bilateral relations. During our discussions, Minister Kolobov and I came to the conclusion that we have a great deal in common and that we need to increase trade with each other. Having a double taxation agreement in place will provide a safety net for our business people who are operating there and vice versa. The figure for trade with Dominica is €115,000. There is big room for improvement in this regard.

On the Deputy's final question, the countries with which we are prioritising our work in the context of concluding agreements are Tunisia, Jordan and Azerbaijan. Negotiations with these states are at various stages. We hope to return to the committee shortly when an agreement is reached with Thailand. I understand it is planned to initiate negotiations for new agreements with other countries in the latter part of this year and into next year. This will be done in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Approaches have also been made to countries in South America, Africa and Asia, including the Far East.