Mr. Paul Mac Flynn:

In terms of corporation tax, from a Republic of Ireland point of view, at first glance it would seem the competition would be to the detriment of foreign direct investment here in the Republic. I do not think that would be the case. The greatest fear about the corporation tax move in Northern Ireland is that it will not work in that Northern Ireland will get control of the rate of corporation tax, but will not get control of the base of corporation tax, which is one of the key policy tools down here. More than that, Northern Ireland has significant ground to make up in terms of basic infrastructure and skills with regard to competition between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. To touch on what Professor Roper will probably talk about, if a foreign multinational corporation looking to create its European base had to choose between Northern Ireland and the Republic, it would look at the insecurity that would be created by an EU referendum and decide to put its money on the safe bet.

I put my money on the safe bet. As for worrying about corporation tax down here, I worry more that it would not succeed in Northern Ireland anyway.