Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Commissioner Moscovici. Following on from what Senator Hayden said, I would make a brief comment. If anybody was asked to give an overall macro view of the top three or four outstanding issues in Ireland at present, the accommodation crisis, especially in major urban centres, would be at the top of the list. The European Commission should examine that issue and put pressure on the Government to deliver on that. The Commissioner might think it odd I would say that given that Ireland built so many houses during the boom years but the reality is that in the areas where people want to live, where there is demand for houses and where employment opportunities and educational institutions exist, there is a chronic shortage of available accommodation. That issue should be firmly on the Commissioner's radar.

I wish to raise a few issues with the Commissioner, one of which is the European Commission's formal investigation into Ireland's corporation tax arrangements with Apple. As he knows, a formal state aid investigation has been under way, in some respects, for almost two years at this stage. There was a preliminary probe in autumn 2013 and a formal investigation has been under way since the summer of last year. When does the Commissioner expect that investigation will conclude? In many respects, it is a cloud hanging over Ireland's corporation tax regime. The Minister for Finance is on record as saying that he believes the probe will be dropped and that it will not go anywhere, but it is important for the country and for our inward investment offering that the investigation would be concluded swiftly one way or the other.

On point No. 4 of the CSRs, relating to the banks, mortgages and SME indebtedness, the Commissioner made the comment that he would like to see the Central Bank strengthen the monitoring arrangements in terms of the roll-out of sustainable solutions. I do not know what he means by that. Will he clarify what he means by that? Is the Commission satisfied with the quality and sustainability of the solutions being put in place? The Commissioner should be made aware that there is much less focus on the SME loan book, which is also in serious distress, than there is on residential mortgages. That is an issue that should be on his radar.

The Commissioner referred to the central credit register, which was recommended four or five years ago in the troika programme. That still has not been delivered, and the Commission's recommendation that it be in place by the end of 2016 is not terribly ambitious.