Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tax rates are matters for individual states. Therefore, the tax rate in Northern Ireland is primarily a matter for the Northern Ireland authorities and the British Government.

The Irish Government is fully supportive of any measures that will help promote the all-island economy and make the island of Ireland more wholly competitive. However, as I was saying in my exchange with Deputy McGrath, a low stable corporate tax rate is only one piece of that broader, more complex competitiveness jigsaw. A reform of the Northern Ireland corporation tax system does, in my view and in the view of the Department of Finance and the Government, have the potential to generate benefits on both parts of the island. That can only be good for the island of Ireland and the economy, North and South. It is obviously a very current issue in terms of yesterday's announcement. In an effort to respond to Deputies Tóibín and Boyd Barrett, let us just take a step back. I think they were both supportive of the OECD BEPS process.