Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform

Financial Transaction Tax: Discussion with Department of Finance

4:05 pm

Photo of Peter MathewsPeter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for attending and I apologise for my late arrival. I only had the opportunity to glance at the presentation so I am already on the back foot. I thank the Chairman for his indulgence and forbearance.

Have Ireland's senior and technically conversant leaders in this area had an opportunity to engage in conversations with their counterparts from other member states in respect of first principles, etc. at plenary meetings? I stand open to correction but I am of the view that the financial transactions tax has its genesis in a particular reaction to the financial meltdown which occurred across Europe and elsewhere and the financial vulnerability that exists in areas such as banking, shadow banking and insurance in respect of trust documentation as distinct from the physical delivery and production of goods and services. This is the voodoo land of intelligent, white collar individuals. Only in the past month, J.P. Morgan has been emerging from a $6 billion loss in London. The city of London may have all the players present but those players continue to be involved in highly unregulated financial transactions.

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