Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is the Minister suggesting that any of the multiples would pull out of Ireland because they have to come clean and be honest and transparent about their levels of turnover and profit? For as long as I can remember there have been periods of major costs increases in the State. Ministers say from time to time that such and such a multiple is margin- or profit-harvesting. There is considerable evidence to show that some of these multiples, including Tesco, achieve a far higher margin in this State than in other areas. Again, it weakens the power of the consumer when that information is not to hand because the more multiples can hide with regard to their operations, the more power they have. Surely transparency is an important issue for the consumer, never mind the suppliers to those companies. Surely the Minister should be standing up for the consumer on these issues.