Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a final point I wish to make on this. Our company residence rules come from 1906 case law. They have been in place since pre-independence. It is not fair to any Irish Government, whatever its view, to suggest people sat down to plan and plot it. It evolved through international mismatches as outlined. This is an attempt to move beyond that. We are co-operating at an international level. I welcome, as Deputy McGrath outlined, the support of the business community - it is important to get its support every now and again, if we want to get the economy functioning - and that of the OECD.

I outlined to Deputy Doherty the idea of the six year transition period. We do not make these changes lightly. We want to give companies which have investments and significant numbers of employees certainty on tax matters. That is why we also had a consultation this year on the broader base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, project. We asked the question about company tax residence as part of that process and the Minister has acted on it.