Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wanted to get to that point. My final question is on volatility in the tax base, with a particular focus on corporation tax, which Mr. Martínez Mongay mentioned. He has met Professor John McHale and our Minister, so these conversations are being had by the Commission, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, and the Department of Finance. This is not a new issue. We have an above average percentage of corporation tax receipts. Ours is approximately 15% whereas the European average is approximately 10%. There has been a major surge in recent years. The Department and Revenue officials tell us that it is permanent. We have a significant concentration, in that ten companies pay 40% of all corporation tax. That figure increased from 20% just over ten years ago.

Mr. Martínez Mongay has a bird's eye view across Europe. Does any other country have such a concentration of taxation receipts in the hands of so few? He, the IMF and IFAC have stated that there is a vulnerability from our corporation tax receipts. Is that vulnerability related to their level or their concentration? Where does our vulnerability rank?