Mr. Sorley McCaughey:

Much of the response in Ireland to criticism of Irish tax policy has been to note that the solution is necessarily global and cannot be fixed by Ireland unilaterally. Christian Aid certainly agrees with that assertion that taxation needs to be viewed as a global issue. The policies of one country cannot be looked at in isolation when it is clear that these policies can have negative, albeit unintentional, consequences on other countries and, in particular, on those countries with less capacity to engage with multinational companies. We also acknowledge that the international tax rules cannot be fixed by one state alone. We contend though that there are certain things that Ireland can do to ensure we are putting our best foot forward, responding to the reputational damage we are experiencing and embracing all opportunities that present themselves to demonstrate the highest commitment to transparency, even if in cases that means going beyond what is the internationally accepted standard. As we have learned from the base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, initiative, adherence to the standards laid down by the OECD have been insufficient in some cases in curbing the problem of base erosion and profit shifting.

What is clear and is uniformly acknowledged by the OECD, the Commission, the World Bank and the IMF is that it is developing countries that suffer most as a consequence of corporate secrecy and inadequate regulation. While there is no suggestion that Ireland is deliberately setting out to deplete the resources of developing countries, which I hope has been made clear, there are gaps in the system that may result in Ireland inadvertently undermining the tax take of poor countries. There is a clear moral responsibility on Ireland to ensure it is doing all in its power to close these gaps and honour its obligations to the poorest countries of the world.