Mr. Sebastian Barnes:

On the tax side the Senator's analysis makes much sense and from an Irish Fiscal Advisory Council perspective, particularly with these kinds of tough trade-offs to be made post 2015 to ensure the tax system is efficient rather than full of holes, it is an extremely important issue. Somewhat facetiously I could say that legislators make the tax code rather than the fiscal council so members may wish to think about that. International competition has made it more difficult for legislators, as well as pressure from outside. Much progress is being made through the OECD and G20 base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, initiative, which I understand is progressing. There will be significant announcements at the Brisbane summit in November, and I hope that will make legislators' jobs easier.