Mr. Barry O'Leary:

Most certainly because 12.5% is a brand that is associated with Ireland. The the tax system is simple. If tax was the only criterion used to judge an investment, nobody would come near Ireland but would go to Singapore and Switzerland. One can see the success they have had. Singapore will give companies 0% for ten to 15 years. Switzerland will probably give them 2% or 3%. The Netherlands talks in its published material about achieving a 5% effective rate for the pharmaceutical industry. In our mind they are discriminatory because one company can get it and another company cannot, whereas the Irish 12.5% is available to everybody. We have research and development tax credits that will reduce the effective tax rate but that is an important part of attracting research and development into Ireland.