Mr. John McCarthy:

I would add a slight nuance to the Deputy's question. When intellectual property is moved onshore, the company is then profitable and pays a significant increase in corporation tax. Last year, the increase in corporation tax was of the order of €2.3 billion, which gives rise to a contribution to the EU budget. There is, therefore, a substantial net gain, if one likes. The bigger problem relates to the so-called issue of inversions, where one has a relatively small firm taken over by a larger firm simply to shift its head office to Ireland. Once its head office is in Ireland, all the subsidiaries, from a national accounting perspective, locate their profits in Ireland. We do not get any of the money because we have double taxation agreements with a large number of countries. This results in an increase in our gross national product as opposed to gross domestic product and, as a result, gross national income or GNI, which is essentially the same thing as GNP. Our contribution to the European Union budget increases because of these corporate taxation issues.

On foot of the revised national accounts, the quantum is about €280 million, additional to the EU budget. As I stressed, it must be seen in the context of a substantial increase in corporation tax receipts.