Mr. Sorley McCaughey:

It is important to emphasise that we have a commitment to ensure there is policy coherence across Government, such that the tax objectives and tax policy of the Department of Finance do not undermine the development objectives of Irish Aid. I outlined in my presentation that there are certain gaps in the way in which Ireland presents its foreign direct investment incentives, which can and may well be utilised by multinational corporations to deplete the revenue take of developing countries. We are falling a little short in addressing those gaps. We could do a great deal more to rectify that situation and thereby honour our commitment to the developing countries of the world.